IKD: Innovation, Knowledge and Development
Publications
Publications produced by all IKD-associated research groups at The Open University.
The IKD working paper and project report series aim to increase the public availability of research undertaken by IKD members, providing a forum for open debate and discussion. They present research results which are either close to submission or have already been submitted to high-profile academic journals. Once published a link to the journal is provided. Some papers also appear in related working papers series (e.g. the OU Economics, the ESRC Innogen, IDC and OUBS series) given their ability to cross the strict boundaries of economics, development and management.
Latest additions
IKD Working Paper 62
"Bottom Of The Pyramid Innovation" And Pro-Poor Growth
Raphael Kaplinsky
November 2011
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Abstract
Outside of China, despite rapid economic growth in many low and middle income countries, there has been little progress in meeting the MDG1 target of halving the incidence of global poverty by 2015. Part of the explanation for this weak poverty-reducing performance has been the historic trajectory of innovation. During the 20th Century, most of global innovation had its origins in the north, producing products for high income consumers, developing technologies which excluded poor producers and technologies which were energy intensive and polluting. This innovation trajectory gave rise to the not-for-profit Appropriate Technology movement after the 1970s. But many of the technologies which they it were inefficient and were scorned by both producers and consumers. However a series of disruptive factors - the growth of low income consumers in the context of global economic slowdown, the development of radical technologies (such as mobile telephony and renewable power), the development of capabilities in low income economies and the emergence of new types of innovation actors - have begun to transform the potential of AT to support pro-poor growth. Whilst this new vintage of ATs will be largely market-driven (since it provides the potential for profitable production), there are important dimensions in which this market-driven process can be supported by policy.
IKD Working Paper 61
Knowledge in Development Aid and Healthcare: A comparative analysis
Alex Borda-Rodriguez
October 2011
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Abstract
Effective delivery in the fields of development aid and healthcare relies on knowledge and its communication. Institutions, practitioners and the end-users are examined in these two fields as key actors in the production and communication of knowledge. Similarities and differences, and strengths and weaknesses of their approaches to knowledge are compared. Knowledge is shown to be an intrinsically political process in which institutions and practitioners play a critical role in its communication. Establishing a common background is essential to communicate knowledge effectively. The World Bank's notion that knowledge is a simple commodity should be challenged.
IKD Working Paper 60
Sources of Innovation and technology capability development in the Indian Automobile Industry
Dinar Kale
October 2011
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Abstract
In the last decade the Indian auto industry has shown increasing levels of technological sophistication and significant growth. The Indian auto industry consists of local firms with indigenous design and development capability; well established global brands and has marketing presence in Indian as well as other emerging markets. This paper tracks capability development in the Indian auto industry and seeks to understand the factors; both internal and external to firms that have shaped innovative capabilities. It points out that the Indian government‟s industrial policy secured development of basic capabilities but restricted innovative capability development in auto manufacturing. This paper reveals that key attributes of firm ownership such as managerial vision and diversified nature of business, helped Indian firms in the development of the innovative capabilities.
IKD Working Paper 59
The determinants of upgrading and value added in the african clothing sector: the contrasting experiences of Kenya and Madagascar
Raphael Kaplinsky, Watu Wamae
October 2010
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Abstract
This paper contrasts the performance of the Kenyan and Malagasy economies post MFA quota removal on garments. Although Malagasy exports to the US declined significantly, they did so at a lower rate than those of Kenya. Moreover, Madagascar was also able to significantly diversify its exports to the EU and South Africa. Following a review of trade performance and detailed plant-level research, the paper explores the extent to which this divergent performance was associated with the differential capacities of firms in the two countries to upgrade their process and product technology. It concludes that the superior performance of the Malagasy industry - achieved in the face of particularly adverse operating conditions - is largely a function of the embeddedness of key firms, some of whom are socially embedded in Madagascar itself, and others of which are of Mauritian origin, but with close regional ties to Madagascar.
IKD Working Paper 58
New drugs and health technologies for low income populations: Will the private sector meet the needs of low income populations in developing countries?
Joanna Chataway, Dinar Kale, Rebecca Hanlin
October 2010
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Abstract
This paper argues that the development of targeted technologies for poor people will require a new mix of technology, organisations and institutions. Using a technology-market matrix we explore new social technologies which may sometimes include MNCs but are also associated with developing country private sector firms and not for profit Product Development Partnerships (PDPs). The paper argues that these arrangements are most likely to generate and deliver new physical technologies and innovations processes required by low income users.
IKD Working Paper 57
The role of standards in global value chains
Raphael Kaplinsky
June 2010
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Abstract
Standards have become an increasingly important dimension in global trade. Without the capacity to meet the growing body of standards, producers may either have difficulty in entering global markets, or may be relegated to unprofitable and low-margin niches. This paper overviews the history of standards, explains the difference between different types of standards and identifies the key stakeholders involved in the setting of standards. It then addresses the role which standards play in enterprise upgrading and considers some of the major costs for producers in meeting standards, including potential cost barriers for small scale producers. Before concluding with a discussion of the policy challenges raised by these developments it discusses the extent to which standards intensity in global value chains will be affected when the final markets increasingly move from high-income consumers in the North to lower income consumers in Southern economies such as China and India.
IKD Working Paper 56
What happens when the market shifts to China? The gabon timber and thai cassava value chains
Raphael Kaplinsky, Anne Terheggen, Julia Tijaja
February 2010
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Abstract
Rapid economic growth in China has boosted its demand for commodities. At the same time, many commodity sectors have experienced declining demand from highincome northern economies. This paper examines two hypotheses of the consequences of this shift in final markets for the organization of global value chains in general, and for the role played in them by southern producers in particular. The first is that there will be a decline in the importance of standards in global value chains. The second is that there will be increasing constraints in the ability of low-income producers to upgrade to higher value niches in their chains. Detailed case studies of the Thai cassava industry and the Gabon timber sector confirm both these hypotheses. It remains to be seen how widespread these trends are across other sectors.
IKD Working Paper 55
What are the implications for global value chains when the market shifts from the North to the South?
Raphael Kaplinsky, Masuma Farooki
February 2010
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Abstract
Rapid growth in many low-income economies was fuelled by the insertion of producers into global value chains feeding into high-income northern markets. This paper charts the evolution of financial and economic crisis in the global economy and argues that the likely outcome will be sustained growth in the two very large Asian Driver economies of China and India and stagnation in the historically dominant northern economies. Given the nature of demand in low-income southern economies, it is likely to be reflected in sustained demand for commodities, with other southern economy producers in global value chains being forced into lower levels of value added. Standards are likely to be of considerably reduced significance in value chains feeding into China and India.
IKD Working Paper 54
Schumacher meets Schumpeter: Appropriate technology below the radar
Raphael Kaplinsky
December 2009
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Abstract
Innovation and technological change play an important role in poverty reduction through their contribution to growth, their use of factors of production, their environmental spillovers, the social relations associated with production and the characteristics of the products which they produce. It was only after the 1960s that these linkages were identified, with the recognition that much of global technological progress was directed to meet the needs of the global rich, and was best-suited to operation in high-income environments. The development and diffusion of 'appropriate technologies' was an agenda largely pursued by the not-for-profit Appropriate Technology movement. However, with the global diffusion of innovative capabilities, and the rapid rise of incomes of the very poor = the 'second bottom billion' – innovation for the poor and innovation appropriate for production in low-wage and poor-infrastructure environments has increasingly become an arena for profitable production. The very large size of China and India, coupled with their growing technological capabilities and the rapid growth of low-incomes, makes it likely that they will become the dominant sources of innovation for the poor.
IKD Working Paper 53
Innovation in Venture-Capital Backed Clean-Technology Firms in the UK
Stuart Parris and Pelin Demirel
February 2010
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Abstract
This paper studies the relationship between innovation and venture capital (VC) funding for a sample of 239 UK firms active in the clean technology sector (cleantech) using a unique combination of three datasets; (1) FAME, (2) UK Intellectual Property Office patent data and (3) Cleantech Networks Venture Investments data. Cleantech, a relatively new investor defined term, covers a range of different applications broadly aimed at alternative energy production or providing solutions to environmental problems (Cooke, 2008). However, as investors are generally motivated by financial return, rather than environmental solutions we use this paper to understand the relationship between cleantech investment, technology innovation and the role of different types of investor. We profile the VC-backed firms active in clean technologies across UK sectors and investigate the relationship between venture capital, investor specialization and experience, and the patenting activities of these firms.