Examining the Dark Side of Innovation: A Review of the Divergence in Regional Economic Opportunity within the United States
Author
Koudal, Christian Singleton
Term
4. term
Publication year
2020
Pages
90
Abstract
Innovation has driven substantial growth, but it can also have a dark side in which gains are unevenly distributed and future innovative capacity is weakened. Focusing on the United States—where income and wealth inequality have increased, the country’s standing in the Global Innovation Index has slipped, and life expectancy fell between 2014 and 2017—this thesis examines how processes of creative destruction may contribute to divergence in regional economic opportunity. It asks three core questions: where and to what extent innovation shapes the evolution of knowledge, geography, and industry; how that evolution feeds back into innovative capabilities; and to what degree innovation is implicated in declining economic opportunities and outcomes. The conceptual framing draws on national innovation systems, Schumpeter’s creative destruction, and dynamic capabilities, using economic geography and evolutionary economic geography to analyze regional impacts and the potential negative externalities of innovation. Methodologically, the work outlines a mix of quantitative and sectoral analyses, including the use of Business Dynamics Statistics (BDS), industry-level measures such as average firm size, and hypotheses distinguishing incremental from radical innovation. The excerpt does not present findings; the thesis aims to uncover mechanisms behind regional divergence and inform policy that balances innovative progress with broader economic opportunity.
Innovation har skabt betydelig vækst, men kan også have en mørk side, hvor gevinsterne fordeles ulige og fremtidige evner til at innovere svækkes. Med udgangspunkt i USA, hvor indkomst- og formueulighed er steget, landets placering på Global Innovation Index er forringet, og den forventede levetid faldt mellem 2014 og 2017, undersøger afhandlingen, hvordan kreative destruktionsprocesser kan bidrage til en divergens i regionale økonomiske muligheder. Arbejdet stiller tre centrale spørgsmål: hvor og i hvilket omfang innovation påvirker udviklingen af viden, geografi og industri; hvordan denne udvikling igen påvirker innovative kapabiliteter; og i hvilken grad innovation kan være medansvarlig for faldende økonomiske muligheder og resultater. Teoretisk trækker afhandlingen på nationale innovationssystemer, Schumpeters kreative destruktion og dynamiske kapabiliteter, og anvender økonomisk geografi og evolutionær økonomisk geografi til at analysere regionale effekter og de mulige negative eksternaliteter af innovation. Metodisk lægger arbejdet op til en kombination af kvantitative og sektoropdelte analyser, herunder brug af Business Dynamics Statistics (BDS), branchevise mål som gennemsnitlig virksomhedsstørrelse samt hypoteser om inkrementel og radikal innovation. Uddraget indeholder ikke analyseresultater; afhandlingen sigter mod at afdække mekanismerne bag regional divergens og informere politik, der balancerer innovative fremskridt med bredere økonomiske muligheder.
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