Taking an international and comparative perspective, this book focuses on the relationship between industrial training and technological change in three major global economies – the UK, USA and Japan. The contributors, an international group of leading researchers, look at the origins and development of training in these countries, and analyse the benefits resulting from the interaction of a skilled workforce and technological change. This analysis of training in major industrial nations reveals the full complexity of the relationship between labour and technological change. It shows the value of an approach which is both historical and comparative, and highlights the importance of education and training as a necessary basis for successful innovation.

What has dictated the rate and direction of technological change? How central has it been to industrial progress? How has it related to other determinants of economic growth and development? In Technology and Industrial Progress, Dr von Tunzelmann examines theoretical views on the nature and contribution of technology, and the empirical evidence from the major industrializing countries from the 18th century to the present day. The experiences of countries regarded in their time as the leaders of industrialization - Britain in the 18th century, the United States in the 19th century and Japan in the 20th century - are critically compared by the author. The following chapters study the transfer of each of these patterns of technology and growth to later industrializers, such as continental Europe, the Soviet Union, and today's newly industrializing countries. Adopting approaches drawn from evolutionary economics, Dr von Tunzelmann links micro-level phenomena relating to individual firms and technologies to macro-level outcomes as reflected in economic growth and development. This long-awaited book is exceptional both in the range of countries surveyed and the breadth of topics analysed, encompassing changes in production processes, products and marketing, management and finance.

`The book provides a valuable resource for researchers, practitioners and policy-makers... In particular, it provides a good introduction to broader aspects of the field of innovation for researchers based within the engineering and science traditions′ - Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management `Howells has synthesised a broad range of sources with considerable insight to provide the first sophisticated single volume on innovation that draws on economics, sociology, law and from the history of science and technology. By setting innovation in social and institutional context, he convincingly shows how firms and markets shape and can be shaped by the decisions of managers and entrepreneurs. I will certainly be using this book as a central text for my Masters degree teaching on innovation management, management of technology and related topics′ - Jonathan Liebenau, London School of Economics and Columbia University `A great strength of the book is the extensive and detailed integration of rich case study analyses into the main flow of the argument. Many apparently well known cases are revisited and critically assessed to draw clear and often contrary to popular belief lessons. This is a highly original and commendable feature of this text. It provides an unusually strong integration between theory and examples. And there is no doubt of the relevance of the examples: they are not inserted as an afterthought, but are intrinsically part of the development of the thinking′ - Professor James Fleck, Head of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group, University of Edinburgh Management School This book analyses a range of social contexts in which human decisions shape technology in the market economy. It comprises a critical review of both a select research literature and in-depth historical studies. Material is drawn from many social science disciplines to inform the reader of the reality of taking decisions on innovation. The chapters cover: - The social context for individual acts of creative insight - The development of the technology-market relationship - The management of R&D and technological standards - Technological competition - The role of institutions of finance in innovation - The reciprocal relationship between intellectual property law and technological innovation. - The role of technological skills and regimes of technological education in innovation. - An introduction to the role of the state in maintaining the innovative capacity of the private sector.

Climate change, driven by the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, poses serious, wide-ranging threats to human societies and natural ecosystems around the world. The largest overall source of greenhouse gas emissions is the burning of fossil fuels. The global atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, the dominant greenhouse gas of concern, is increasing by roughly two parts per million per year, and the United States is currently the second-largest contributor to global emissions behind China. Limiting the Magnitude of Future Climate Change, part of the congressionally requested America's Climate Choices suite of studies, focuses on the role of the United States in the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The book concludes that in order to ensure that all levels of government, the private sector, and millions of households and individuals are contributing to shared national goals, the United States should establish a "budget" that sets a limit on total domestic greenhouse emissions from 2010-2050. Meeting such a budget would require a major departure from business as usual in the way the nation produces and uses energy-and that the nation act now to aggressively deploy all available energy efficiencies and less carbon-intensive technologies and to develop new ones. With no financial incentives or regulatory pressure, the nation will continue to rely upon and "lock in" carbon-intensive technologies and systems unless a carbon pricing system is established-either cap-and-trade, a system of taxing emissions, or a combination of the two. Complementary policies are also needed to accelerate progress in key areas: developing more efficient, less carbon-intense energy sources in electricity and transportation; advancing full-scale development of new-generation nuclear power, carbon capture, and storage systems; and amending emissions-intensive energy infrastructure. Research and development of new technologies that could help reduce emissions more cost effectively than current options is also strongly recommended.

Throughout history, engineers have been defined as those who bring technological innovation to society. However, the concept of innovation and the role of the engineer are now changing as a result of globalization, the digital revolution, growing inequalities and environmental concerns. Training Engineers for Innovation therefore analyzes the ways in which the educational systems for engineers are adapting to these new demands, as well as the conditions in which this training has developed. This book brings together the works of a consortium of researchers dedicated to the subject area as part of the Innov’Ing 2020 project. Its contributors present various means to devise effective pedagogies adapted to a holistic approach to innovation which incorporates the technical, economic, social, ethical and environmental dimensions of engineering.

In this volume a group of distinguished scholars take up the familiar Schumpeterian theme of innovation. They cast it in a new light by emphasizing not technology and innovation in particular industries but rather innovation in institutions and organizational structures. They thus cumulatively argue that innovation promotes not only industry but the evolution of society as a whole.