Technology and the multipolar global economy: Implications for european competitiveness

The European Union has engaged in several attempts to increase the level of innovation in member states – largely without success. This chapter argues that a combination of global and regional issues explain this failure. What was once a process dominated by Europe and America, innovation is “going global,” with many countries now developing national innovation systems. European firms are conducting more of their research in emerging markets, and in Europe, firms seem unable to raise their share of overall research and development spending. The Commission, for its part, lacks the necessary regulatory and legislative powers to forge a new regional innovation system and is instead reliant on a policy mix of overarching objectives, some directed funding, and comparative analysis of member state policies.