Course 2020-2021 a.y.

• The nature and measurement of innovation
• The evolutionary theory of innovation and industrial change.
• Sources, appropriability and dimensions of innovation in industries
• Demand, users and innovation
• Learning, capabilities and performance of the innovative firm
• Innovation, entry and industrial dynamics.
• Models of innovation and industry evolution.
• Public policy for innovation and industrial change.
• International technological competition and catch-up by latecomer countries .
• Economics of science.
• Diffusion of innovations.

• Understand the broad economic processes of innovation and industrial change.
• Discuss the various characteristics of the competition in innovation among new and established firms and among countries, both advanced and emerging ones.

• Recognize the implications of the use of different sources of knowledge for innovation and technology diffusion.

• Link knowledge and innovation with the strategies of firms, industrial dynamics, public policy, intellectual property.

•  Discuss, interpret and explain current events concerning innovation at the firm, industry and country level, using different approaches, methodologies and theories.
• Read and summarize medium-difficulty scientific papers published in academic journals.
• Access and use structured data on surveys on innovation, R&D and patents at the company, sector and economy level.
• Write a report based on individual or group research, using documentary sources and statistics.
• Demonstrate skills and teamwork abilities in presentation and communication.

• Face-to-face lectures
• Online lectures
• Individual assignments
• Group assignments

• Face-to-face lectures on the various topics of the course.
• Online lectures on specific topics of the course 
• Individual/group assignments for oral presentations and discussion in front of the class on specific topics.
• Group assignments for paper preparation and writing.

• Written exam: 2/3 of the final grade
• Group assignment- term paper: 1/3 of the final grade
• Active participation to the class is rewarded on top of the marks for the written exam and the term paper.

The assessment of the learning outcomes for this course is based on the following components:

- A comprehensive final exam (2/3 of the final grade) or a mid-term exam (1/3 of the final grade) and a second-part exam (1/3 of the final grade). They consist in open questions aimed to assess individual students’ ability to understand the concepts, methodologies and theories presented during the course, to explain them in a concise and analytical manner and to present them in a clear way.

- A final paper (1/3 of the final grade) to be written in groups of  3-4 students on one of the topics of the course, with the goals to verify students’ ability to analyze the main issues related to one of the topics of the course, apply the proper methodology and work in group.  At the end of the course, each group delivers a 20 minutes presentation about the main ideas and structure of the paper project. This presentation, which is not graded, is intended to test students’ ability to speak in public and to organize and transfer their ideas in a concise and structured manner. The presentation is discussed by the Instructor and by the class and provides a relevant feed-back for the writing of the final paper.  

-Active participation during lectures and very short presentations of the readings in front of the classis is rewarded on top of the marks for the final essay and the term paper. This is aimed to encourage students to interact in a learning environment and to think critically about the material presented in class.

• Textbook for the first part of the course:  Richard Nelson et al.   “Modern Evolutionary Economics: an Overview” Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2018
• Required readings: required readings are posted on Bboard; they are also available from the electronic resources at the Bocconi Library.
• Slides of the lectures: the slides are posted on Bboard after each class.