Technological Revolutions and Techno-Economic Paradigms

Abstract

This paper locates the notion of technological revolutions in the neo-Schumpeterian effort to understand innovation and to identify the regularities, continuities and discontinuities in the process of innovation. It looks at the micro- and meso-foundations of the patterns observed in the evolution of technical change and at the interrelations with the context that shape the rhythm and direction of innovation. On this basis it defines technological revolutions, examines their structure and the role that they play in rejuvenating the whole economy through the application of the accompanying techno-economic paradigm. This over-arching meta-paradigm or shared best practice ‘common sense’ is in turn defined and analysed in its components and its impact, including its influence on institutional and social change.

Keywords: Technological change, Technological revolutions, Techno-economic paradigms, Innovation, Neo-Schumpeterian and evolutionary economics

JEL Classification: O3, B520