Latecomer Development

"This is an interesting book on an important set of issues – the nature and determinants of invention and innovation – applied to the development process. It is equally useful for assessing growth possibilities for the already developed nations as many of their advisors and policy-makers simply extrapolate from past success rather than evaluate and learn from it. The book provides an extensive summary of the debates on the importance and determinants of technological change for development, putting increase emphasis on the role of the state and of institutions in development, especially for the most lagging countries ."

Professor Michael Bradfield, Dalhousie University

"This book achieves two elusive goals. First, it creates a novel framework from two bodies of scholarship; the economics of innovation and learning, and development economics. From this framework and using new empirical data collected in a variety of African and Asian countries, the authors enrich our understanding of how latecomers learn and innovate to create wealth through knowledge accumulation. In addition, the book points to the heterogeneity of knowledge and capabilities accumulation that distinguish latecomers and in turn suggests a new way of understanding latecomer economies. This thoughtful and path making book deserves to be read by all innovation and development scholars, policy makers and students alike."

Prof. Alice Amsden, MIT

"Latecomer Development is required reading for anyone interested in the issue of the role of innovation, knowledge and institutions in development. The two authors’ theoretical and empirical skills make this work both thought-provoking and very informative for policy making. This is one of the most important books in this field and one of the most interesting at a time where the least developed countries are left behind with totally dislocated knowledge systems which raise incredibly difficult challenges for development policy."

Prof. Dominique Foray