Overview

This authoritative collection covers the economics and business side of the social scientific debate about the economics of 'modern biotechnology' or 'the biotechnology industry'. Biotechnology has attracted an enormous interest. Research has spawned work on a variety of theoretical issues about economic dynamics, about innovation systems and about what might be called - in the current jargon - the modern 'learning economy'. More generally, biotechnology is often perceived as one of the most important, broad, cutting-edge new technologies of the contemporary era. This collection will provide the reader with an accessible and structured understanding of the main issues which have characterized debates about the economics of biotechnology.

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9781843767763

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'This book provides an invaluable introduction to the distinctive economic features of the biotechnology industry. Indeed, it is an introduction in more ways than one. To begin with, the 39 articles that make up the 2 volumes are the result of a thoughtful, judicious selection of the most influential contributions to the emergence and the maturation of this remarkable industry. At the same time, an introductory essay by the editors provides an indispensable reader's guide to the wide range of issues that have become especially salient along with the growth of the biotechnology industry: the costs and benefits of large vs. small firms; the benefits of vertical integration; the effectiveness of networks as a way of organizing the critical functions of R&D; the changing economics of the division of labor; the causes of geographical clustering; the relevance of the tacitness of knowledge; the impact of intellectual property rights, etc. The editors deserve to be congratulated for their endeavors in providing a book that should serve as an extremely useful research tool for a growing army of researchers. The book's usefulness is significantly enhanced by the fact that it draws upon a wide range of journals, many of which will not be readily accessible except at a very small number of the largest research universities. One can only admire the depth and the breadth of the research, on the part of the editors, that must have been involved in creating this invaluable research tool.' - Nathan Rosenberg, Stanford University, US 'An excellent collection of papers which are not only essential for the understanding of the biotechnology industry, but are also a must for students of industrial dynamics at large, of intellectual property rights, and of the economics and geography of innovation.' - Giovanni Dosi, St Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy

Author Information

Edited by Maureen McKelvey, Professor, School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg, Sweden and the late Luigi Orsenigo, formerly Professor of Industrial Organisation, University of Brescia and CESPRI (Center on the Processes of Innovation and Internationalisation), Bocconi University, Milan, Italy

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