Work

Capitalism as an engine of progress

Year: 1990

Type: article

Abstract: Economists, from Marx, to Schumpeter, have touted capitalism as an engine of technical progress. But what kind of an engine is it? How does it work? What are the strengths and weaknesses? This essay hazards some answers to these questions.1 Section 1 is a broad theoretical assessment that begins with Joseph Schumpeter's seminal analysis of technical advance as an evolutionary process, but augments it, and then diverges from it in important ways. In particular, it develops the point that the relationships among science and technology, and the institutional structures supporting scientific and technical advance, are much more complex than Schumpeter and scholars following in his tradition have recognized. Section 2 is the heart of the essay. It draws on a wide range of recent scholarship to describe the different parts of the modern capitalist engine, what they do, and how they mesh. Based on the foregoing, Section 3 develops a particular view of the current debate about strengthening mechanisms to facilitate R&D planning and coordination.

Source: Research Policy

DOI: 10.1016/0048-7333(90)90036-6

Author: Richard R. Nelson

Institution: Columbia University

Language: English

Topic: Research, Science, and Academia

Subfield: Management of Technology and Innovation

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,280