Innovation Systems and Systems Development:Innovation Systems and Systems Development:Lessons from History and Prospects for the Future

This paper addresses the question What drives economic growth from a socio-technical perspective.It discusses the concept ofinnovation system,especially at the national level,and its three components: actors and factors,interrelationships and dynamics.Historical examples will be given from eighteenth century England (especially the Watt-Boulton steam engine firm) and the late nineteenth and early twentieth century USA (especially the contribution of Thomas Edison).Lessons are drawn for China,focusing on Har...