Innovation has created huge wealth and opportunities over the past two centuries, and since the mid-20th century in particular. But over the past decades, many point to stagnating productivity. That makes it all the more important to aim for a fundamental reconceptualization and rebirth of innovation for the future.

In this episode, Prof. Alex Tabarrok argues that by embracing a culture of growth and significantly reforming education, intellectual property laws, and bureaucratic regulations, societies can reignite the kind of innovation that drives substantial economic advances and improves the standard of living worldwide.

Prof. Alex Tabarrok holds the Bartley J. Madden Chair in Economics at the Mercatus Center and is a professor of economics at George Mason University.

Innovation Matters - the Innovation Renaissance

In the past two decades, Open Innovation and its relatives, such as Open Science, have come to the fore as a paradigm contrasting with the view of innovation as something emerging from within firms. Referring to the practice of sourcing ideas from external sources and sharing valuable information widely, Open Innovation is essential to the creation of a broader innovation commons and to understanding a range of emergent phenomena that turn the traditional view on its head. 

As Prof. Henry Chesbrough, Berg Professor of Open Innovation and Sustainability at LUISS University of Rome, explains in Innovation Matters, this potential is set to continue growing, as we learn more and more about how to make better use of digital and frontier technologies.

Innovation Matters: Open Innovation

We often see innovation as a linear process – from basic research over invention to innovation. But is that how knowledge develops and how innovation works? Could the concept of evolution help elucidate the dynamics better? How would such a perspective explain how knowledge evolves into, adapts to, and underpins societal and economic transformation? And what does that mean in practice, for entrepreneurship, policy, and how society works? 

Innovation Matters explores these questions with Prof. Jason Potts of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, who explains the importance of understanding the evolutionary nature of knowledge and how this perspective can inform policies that support more experimentation and learning.

Innovation Matters: Exploring the Evolutionary Theory of Economics

This episode of Innovation Matters explores with Marian Tupy of the Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity how innovation has helped to expand the resource base and improve living standards, even as the global population has grown. 

The discussion highlights historical and contemporary examples of how innovation can increase resource efficiency and availability, providing an optimistic view of our future and the role of technology in addressing today’s challenges. It also delves into the broader implications for sustainability and future development.

Innovation Matters: Resource Efficiency and Availability

From the industrial revolution to the digital era, innovation has redefined economies and societies, offering new opportunities and challenges. However, balancing the promotion of innovation with the need for responsible oversight remains a key issue for governments, businesses, and communities.

In this episode of Innovation Matters, Arthur Diamond, Professor of Economics at the University of Nebraska Omaha, shares his insights on innovative dynamism — where technological advancements drive significant transformation. We explore the historical evolution of innovation, comparing the more open, dynamic environment of the 19th century with the increasing role of state-led regulation that emerged in the 20th century, particularly after World War II. 

The discussion examines how regulation and central planning have influenced innovation, the lessons learned from technological breakthroughs, and how societies can find the right balance between encouraging innovation and ensuring responsible governance.

Innovation Matters: Innovative Dynamism

In this episode of Innovation Matters, Professor Chris Berg, an economist at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, explores the concept of blockchain as a decentralized database, emphasizing its potential to transform global trade, social media, and even the integration of AI technologies. He delves into current challenges, such as regulatory uncertainties and the complexities of building decentralized networks, while maintaining an optimistic view of the future of the blockchain economy.

Innovation Matters: Blockchain

In this episode of Innovation Matters, Professor Gillian Hadfield from the University of Toronto, discusses the importance of reimagining legal infrastructure to better align with the demands of our rapidly changing world. 

She explores the concept of using market mechanisms to drive legal innovation, emphasizing how regulatory markets can help create more responsive and effective legal systems.

Innovation Matters: the Future of Legal Infrastructure (Part 1)

UNECE explores issues around sustainable resource management and intergenerational equity with Jodi-Ann Wang, Grantham Research Institute, London School of Economics (LSE), member of UNECE's Resource Management Young Member Group (RMYMG).

Bridging the gap: intergenerational equity in resource management

As the pace of technological change accelerates, the limitations of our existing legal systems are becoming increasingly apparent. Traditional frameworks, designed for a slower and less complex world, struggle to keep up with the challenges posed by globalization, digitalization, and emerging technologies. There is a growing need for innovative approaches to lawmaking that can support both the rapid pace of innovation and the protection of societal values.

In this episode, Profesor Gillian Hadfield from the University of Toronto discusses the importance of reimagining legal infrastructure to better align with the demands of our rapidly changing world. 

Innovation Matters: the Future of Legal Infrastructure (Part 2)

As the complexities of modern economies grow, traditional approaches to industrial policy face increasing scrutiny. For decades, debates have raged about how governments can intervene to foster innovation, address market failures, and create sustainable development paths. Today, industrial policy has undergone a transformation, and now embraces elements of market liberalism.  

In this episode of Innovation Matters, Professor Michael Munger from Duke University explores these issues, suggesting that industrial policy often oscillates between two extremes: setting the foundational rules of the game for markets to thrive and directly managing industry outcomes through subsidies, regulations, or nationalization. He highlights the inherent tensions in these approaches, including the risks of rent-seeking, misaligned incentives, and the difficulty of predicting which innovations will succeed. 

Innovation Matters: New Innovation Policy

UNECE fosters sustainable development by translating the #GlobalGoals into norms and conventions that impact people’s lives every day.