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The Technological Capabilities of Nations: A Survey of Composite Indicators

Author

Listed:
  • Daniele Archibugi
  • Francesco Crespi
  • Mario Denni
  • Andrea Filippetti

Abstract

Composite synthetic indicators of the technological capabilities of nations have been used ever more frequently over the last few years, creating a sort of Olympic Games medal table of the innovation race. Such measurement tools have been formulated at the macroeconomic level by the European Commission, specialised 98 United Nations Agencies, the World Bank, the World Economic Forum and individual scholars. All these indicators are based on a variety of statistical sources in order to capture the multidimensional nature of technological change. This article reviews these various exercises , in particular) casts light on the explicit and implicit assumptions on the nature of technological change; ii) discusses their pros and cons; iii) examines the soundness of the results achieved. Finally, the relevance of synthetic indicators of technological capabilities for policy makers, company strategies and economic studies is discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniele Archibugi & Francesco Crespi & Mario Denni & Andrea Filippetti, 2009. "The Technological Capabilities of Nations: A Survey of Composite Indicators," QA - Rivista dell'Associazione Rossi-Doria, Associazione Rossi Doria, issue 2, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:rar:journl:0109
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Godin, Benoit, 2007. "Science, accounting and statistics: The input-output framework," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 1388-1403, November.
    2. Hye-Seon Moon & Jeong-Dong Lee, 2005. "A fuzzy set theory approach to national composite S&T indices," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 64(1), pages 67-83, July.
    3. Grupp, Hariolf & Mogee, Mary Ellen, 2004. "Indicators for national science and technology policy: how robust are composite indicators?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(9), pages 1373-1384, November.
    4. Archibugi, Daniele & Coco, Alberto, 2004. "A New Indicator of Technological Capabilities for Developed and Developing Countries (ArCo)," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 629-654, April.
    5. Jeffrey James, 2006. "An Institutional Critique of Recent Attempts to Measure Technological Capabilities across Countries," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(3), pages 743-766, September.
    6. James, M.J., 2006. "An institutional critique of recent attempts to measure technological capabilities across countries," Other publications TiSEM 05175942-7ecf-410c-9e17-b, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Dutrénit, Gabriela & Natera, José Miguel & Puchet Anyul, Martín & Vera-Cruz, Alexandre O., 2019. "Development profiles and accumulation of technological capabilities in Latin America," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 396-412.
    2. Slavo Radosevic & Esin Yoruk, 2015. "Why do we need theory and metrics of technology upgrading?," UCL SSEES Economics and Business working paper series 134, UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES).
    3. Nat Moser, 2015. "Ownership and Enterprise Performance in the Russian Oil Industry 1992-2012," UCL SSEES Economics and Business working paper series 133, UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES).
    4. Filippetti, Andrea & Archibugi, Daniele, 2011. "Innovation in times of crisis: National Systems of Innovation, structure, and demand," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 179-192, March.
    5. Archibugi, Daniele & Filippetti, Andrea & Frenz, Marion, 2013. "Economic crisis and innovation: Is destruction prevailing over accumulation?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 303-314.
    6. Filippetti, Andrea & Archibugi, Daniele, 2010. "Innovation in Times of Crisis: The Uneven Effects of the Economic Downturn across Europe," MPRA Paper 22084, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Joseph Gogodze, 2019. "Innovative advantages ranking. A new approach," Operations Research and Decisions, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Management, vol. 29(1), pages 5-15.
    8. Filippetti, Andrea & Peyrache, Antonio, 2011. "The Patterns of Technological Capabilities of Countries: A Dual Approach using Composite Indicators and Data Envelopment Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 1108-1121, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Technological Capabilities; Composite Indicators; Innovation Measurement; Cross-Country Comparisons;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General
    • O57 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries
    • C34 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Truncated and Censored Models; Switching Regression Models

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