English language level B 2 (or higher): students' language competence will be tested during the first lesson.

For students intending to take this exam it would be desirable to have already passed an exam of "Introductory economics". 

Innovation is a driving force of economic change and development, and the understanding of - at least some of - its dimensions is the main aim of this course. The starting point will be a concise review of the theories of innovation, with specific reference to Classical, Neoclassical and Schumpeterian-evolutionary School of thought.

Then the course will focus on the Schumpeterian evolutionary ideas of development and change. The themes which will be tackled concern: the role played by firms in market economies, the definition of innovation (e.g. product and process innovation), the role of knowledge, the role of R&D, technological paridgms, systems of innovation, technological persistence, 'presumptive anomaly' and technological change.

Some attention will also be devoted to the specificity of innovation in the service sector (as distinct from the industrial sector). Science, technology and innovation policies will also be explicitly referred to.

Knowledge and understanding. The course aims to broaden the students' knowledge and understanding; the course contents make explicit the complexity issues behind the phenomenon of innovation in which economic, 'pure' technological, scientific and public operator intervention aspects are explicitly considered.
Applying knowledge and understanding. The theoretical tools provided and the case studies referred to, will enable students to independently develop the ability to apply what they have learnt to new situations (e.g. the emergence of new technologies that may displace existing technologies, and the possible response of the latter).
Making judgements. The phenomenon of innovation is very complex, and within the complexity one looks for threads that 'explain' the occurrence of innovation. However, in many cases the answers are not necessarily unambiguous, so students will be stimulated to provide answers that do not necessarily have to follow those indicated by the lecturer.
Communication skills. During the course, an attempt will be made to involve students, thus stimulating active participation that will make any gaps in communication skills explicit.
Learning skills. A specific effort will be made to stimulate students' learning abilities: indeed, given the plurality of dimensions that characterise the innovation phenomenon, the ability to learn will be tested and consequently stimulated.

Standard lessons in presence, occasionally accompanied by ad hoc seminars, will be the main vehicle of the course.

Active participation of the students will be sought.

Student attending systemacally the lessons (which means at least 85%) will have the possibility to divide the exam into a few intermediate evalutions. This means that once the teacher has explained a topic (which usually concides with one chapter of a book or an article from a journal), the students will be given the possibility to be interviewed on that topic one or two weeks later.     

The final evaluation will take into account the student's overall performance during the course. 

Students not attending systematically the lessons will be interviewed on the whole programme in the planned exam date.   

The first exams rounds will take place from late May 2025 (precise dates will be published in March)  

Hints at the Classical and Neoclassical theories of innovation. The main focus will be on Neo-Schumpeterian theory of innovation, starting from the original contributions of Joseph Schumpeter (Schumpeter "Mark I" and Schumpeter "Mark II"); The main topics tackled are: knowledge in technology and knowledge in science; market structure and innovation; technological paradigms; technological systems and systems of innovation; technological persistence through the 'sailing-ship effect'; accelerated technological change through 'presumptive anomaly'; case studies (e.g. semiconductors vs superconductors); hints at artificial intelligence.

The teacher provides all the files required in pdf form, which include: Introductory chapter of the book edited by G. Antonelli and N. De Liso "Economics of structural and technological change" ; chapter II and IV from J.A. Schumpeter's "Theory of economic development"; chapter VII and VIII from J. A. Schumpeter's "Capitalism, socialism and democracy", and more journal articles.