Abstract
This paper discusses why we need a theory and metrics of technology upgrading. It critically reviews existing approaches to technology upgrading, and proposes a theoretically relevant and empirically grounded intermediate conceptual and statistical framework to illustrate the types of challenges facing economies with different levels of income. It conceptualises technology upgrading as a three-dimensional process that considers the intensity and type of technology upgrading based on different types of innovation and technology activities; the broadening of technology upgrading through exploitation of technology and knowledge diversification; and interaction with the global economy via the import, adoption, and exchange of knowledge. We consider these to be necessary first steps towards a theory and metrics of technology upgrading and the generation of more relevant composite indicator of technology upgrading.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 8-32 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Asian Journal of Technology Innovation |
| Volume | 24 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 21 Oct 2016 |
Bibliographical note
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.Keywords
- technology upgrading
- growth
- composite indicators
- middle-income economies
- R&D and innovation