Economics of technology as a scientific field: Retrospective and prospective aspects

This article examines a number of aspects in the development of the economics of technology as an independent research direction. This field falls under the umbrella of a broader discipline of the ‘economics of scientific and technological progress’, which was founded by a group of outstanding Soviet economists. The article analyses the methodological principles behind the economics of technology as a modern field of science. Additionally, the contribution made by the Soviet and Russian economic schools, as well as the continuity of their studies, are discussed. The research methodology is based on theories of technological change and development factors. Comparative analysis is used to explore the chronology of including technology in the realm of economic analysis. The results obtained indicate that modern works by the Russian economic school, including those on the ‘combinatorial growth’ of technologies, significantly alter the widely-held concept of technological evolution and most well-known models of technological dynamics, which rely on J. Schumpeter’s principle of creative destruction. In this respect, the emerging research direction – economics of technology – continues the traditions of the Soviet economic school of Heynman–L’vov–Anchishkin. While considering the economic impact, renewal, or forecasting of technological development, this direction also focuses on interactions between technologies and their dynamics. Technologies advance at various rates along various areas of production activities, both within their core and periphery. Consequently, the structure of technologies within each type of activity, as well as the structural design of each technology within the ‘core–periphery’ framework, is of fundamental importance. The conclusion is made that the research direction of the economics of technology consists in studying the effects of combinatorial growth in technological fields, technological duality, and the sensitivity of technological development goals to different industrial policy instruments. This direction also includes modes and models of substituting and adding technologies, as well as technological neutrality and its impact on economic growth.