The Innovation For Development Report 2009 2010

The relative importance of various drivers of economic growth and prosperity has evolved over time and for a growing number of countries, innovation, in its many dimensions, is emerging as a leading factor. The 'Innovation for Development Report' provides a comprehensive look at the role of innovation in enhancing the development process.

Rising densities of human settlements, migration and transport to reduce distances to market, and specialization and trade facilitated by fewer international divisions are central to economic development. The transformations along these three dimensions density, distance, and division are most noticeable in North America, Western Europe, and Japan, but countries in Asia and Eastern Europe are changing in ways similar in scope and speed. 'World Development Report 2009: Reshaping Economic Geography' concludes that these spatial transformations are essential, and should be encouraged. The conclusion is not without controversy. Slum-dwellers now number a billion, but the rush to cities continues. Globalization is believed to benefit many, but not the billion people living in lagging areas of developing nations. High poverty and mortality persist among the world's 'bottom billion', while others grow wealthier and live longer lives. Concern for these three billion often comes with the prescription that growth must be made spatially balanced. The WDR has a different message: economic growth is seldom balanced, and efforts to spread it out prematurely will jeopardize progress. The Report: documents how production becomes more concentrated spatially as economies grow. proposes economic integration as the principle for promoting successful spatial transformations. revisits the debates on urbanization, territorial development, and regional integration and shows how today's developers can reshape economic geography.

Examines how innovation drives national prosperity, in particular, economic growth and development, with 70 country profiles and the unique Innovation Capacity Index

This report provides a comprehensive look at the role of innovation in promoting economic and social development. It examines the impact of innovation on the economic growth of developing countries and the future role of technological innovation in international efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change, amongst many other issues.

The relative importance of various drivers of economic growth and prosperity has evolved over time and for a growing number of countries, innovation, in its many dimensions, is emerging as a leading factor. The Innovation for Development Report provides a comprehensive look at the role of innovation in enhancing the development process.

As an innovation policy tool, business incubators (BIs) have great potential to catalyse innovative entrepreneurship by providing incentives, support, connections, and an enabling environment for people who want to develop and try out new ideas. Experimenting with ideas to create value and solve problems more systematically is essential for sustainable development and is therefore high on the policy agenda among the transition economies of the United Nations Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA), i.e. Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. This handbook reflects upon the lessons learned from incubator practices around the world and in transition economies, providing examples of initiatives in the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan, including the respective roles of universities, government, and the private sector. The recommendations and tools here target national and local governments, universities, as well as those parties involved in the development and management of business incubators and similar institutions, such as pre-incubators, accelerators, and entrepreneurship support centres in the SPECA countries.

The global crisis of 2008-09 has brought to the forefront a plethora of economic and political policy issues. There is a re-opening of discussion on basic economic concepts, appropriate framework for analysis, role of private and public sectors in the economy, structural transformation of economies, human development and managing of growing risks and crises. The purpose of this book has been to bring home the inter-linkages in various parts of the economy and the need for practical policy making to reach development goals while being aware of the instabilities, complexities and downside risks inherent in the nature of a an economy operating in a globalized world. Thematically, this book focuses on two core types of policy: policies that promote strong, sustainable and inclusive growth in low income and middle income developing countries and new and emerging policies that necessitates a discussion amongst policy makers and practitioners. Throughout the book, the authors provide insight in to the different types of policy approaches that can be taken to help the economy grow. Ultimately the book looks to foster discussion amongst policy makers on growth and development.

The SME Policy Index is a benchmarking tool for emerging economies to monitor and evaluate progress in policies that support small and medium-sized enterprises.