Knowledge-based Development in the context of World Disorder
Bengt Ake Lundvall, Aalborg University, Denmark
The world has been through several major crises since the beginning of the new millennium and the old-world order, with the US as hegemonic power, is challenged by the rise of China. There has been a reversal of, as well as directional change in, the globalization trend. A weakening of international collaboration is taking place against a backdrop of global challenges such as climate change, digital revolution and global inequality, challenges calling for coordinated action. Starting from a knowledge-based world system perspective, the paper reflects on, what this means for innovation and development strategies in the South. Which are the main threats and opportunities in the current era? Which lessons can be drawn from the rise of China? What are the implications for research agendas?
About the speaker
Bengt-Åke Lundvall is an emeritus professor in economics at the Department of Business and Management at Aalborg University. Lundvall started his academic career at the University of Gothenburg as Assistant professor in 1969. In 1973, he moved to the Aalborg University, where he was appointed associate professor. From 1992 to 1995 he was Deputy Director at DSTI/OECD. Since 1995 he is Professor at the Department of Business and Management at Aalborg University, where he founded the IKE Group 1977.
Lundvall's research is organized around a broad set of issues related to the innovation system (in fact this concept was created by him in 1985) and the learning economy.
In close collaboration with Christopher Freeman, Bengt-Åke Lundvall developed the idea of innovation as an interactive process, in the first half of the eighties and the concept of National System of Innovation in the second half. In the beginning of the nineties he developed the idea of "the learning economy" in collaboration with Björn Johnson (Lundvall and Johnson, 1994). According to the research carried by Fagerberg & Verspagen (2007) on innovation studies, Lundvall is number 4 in "The most important sources of scholarly inspiration".
Venue: Room 0.18, Boschstraat 24, Maastricht (UNU-MERIT) and Online
Date: 22 February 2024
Time: 12:00 - 13:00 CEST