Economics
of Innovation Policy and Management
Fall 2023 (A1A2), Class code: 3788-086, 3792-171
Credits: 2
Room: Online (by Zoom), Thursdays 13:00~14:45 (https://u-tokyo-ac-jp.zoom.us/j/82765875263?pwd=S3ZPLzJEZEhOQnV6UjNqSTBrOTlJdz09)
Instructor: Kazuyuki Motohashi
Language: English
URL: http://www.mo.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/education.html/
Course objective
This course is designed to guide graduate students to learn the core literature and academic foundations of innovation policy studies. The course will primarily focus on the economics of technological innovation, intellectual property law, the concept of the system of innovation, and their relationship with the economic growth as well as the firm’s strategy. Students will gain the necessary knowledge for reconciling theories in the fields of innovation management and policy.
Course content
This course will cover chapter 1 (Introduction to Innovation Studies) through chapter 8 (Models of Economic Growth) of the textbook. The primary goal of this class is to help students become familiar with the key literature and intellectual foundation of innovation economics and policy. Throughout the lectures and student presentations, we will learn about the role of innovation in economic growth, various social systems designed to encourage innovation and mechanisms therein, and macroscopic viewpoints on how technological innovation is created, diffused and utilized. Prior knowledge of undergraduate-level microeconomics or macroeconomics (or both) will be helpful but not required.
Format
This course will be taught in a combined lecture-seminar format. The course structure depends upon students having done all weekly assignments before class. All students are required to read a selected book chapter before class each week. In addition, each student is required to select at least two research articles from a preapproved list and submit a two-page summary for each article.
In addition, students will present their summaries in class according to the article review schedule. The list of pre-approved research papers is in the tentative course schedule. Students will choose their research papers within a few weeks at the beginning of the course. The numbers of presentations per each student depends on the size of the class.
Requirements
Students are expected to fully meet four-course requirements. Final grades are determined by the aggregation of the following scores:
· Class participation (30%)
· Paper summary assignment (20%)
· Written research proposal (30%)
· Research proposal presentation (20%)
Participation: Students will be required to actively participate in every aspect of the class. In addition to the regular attendance in the class, it is highly recommended to actively participate in in-class discussions (esp. other students’ presentation of the research paper review in the last half of each class, as well as your owns). Students’ class participation will take 30% of the final score.
Paper Summary Assignment: Students will be required to submit the paper summary for at least two papers selected the list of papers in the class. The two papers can be overlapped with the paper you are assigned for your oral presentation, but it could be the others papers as well.
The paper summary should include:
· Research questions that the paper aims to address
· Research method or approach (briefly)
· Findings & conclusion
· The relevance of the reviewed papers to the book chapters or research papers in prior classes
· Formatted one-inch margin, 1.5-line spaces, and font size 11.
· Students can choose their preferred language for writing (Japanese or English).
The deadline of the paper summary assignments is Jan. 31, 2023.
Research Proposal & Presentation: Finally, the students will be tasked with individually developing research proposals that will explore research questions in the realm of the economics of innovation. Under the supervision of the instructor, students will develop a research proposal that:
· Frames a feasible research question
· Reconciles course readings and connect them to your research question
· Identifies the research gap in the existing literature
· Presents a methodological approach (briefly)
· Includes potential data sources
· States the academic/practical contribution of the research:
o Who will benefit from your research? (e.g., policymakers will benefit in decision making for xxxx, firm’s intellectual property strategist can benefit in building a more effective intellectual property strategy when xxx).
Students are required to develop their research proposals throughout the semester. The progress of proposal development will be checked through each student’s short presentation (less than 10 mins) in the middle of the course due. The deadline of the research proposal is Jan 31, 2023.
Textbook
C. Greenhalgh and M. Rogers, Innovation, Intellectual Property, and Economic Growth (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010)
Course policies
Expectations: Successful students in this class will demonstrate a command of issues and concepts related to economics in innovation discussed in the lectures, as well as exhibit the ability to correctly apply them in a variety of research and policy settings.
Attendance: Although all students are required to fully commit to the assignment submission policy, there could be unexpected events that refrain students from meeting the course requirements. If students anticipate not being able to complete a course requirement by the specified deadline, contact Prof. Motohashi, prior to the deadline to make arrangements.
Mutual respect: Throughout the class, we will have active discussions based on the class materials and students’ presentations. All students are expected to respect other students’ opinion and their experiences/backgrounds.
Tentative schedule
|
Month |
Topic |
Due |
|
Oct 5 |
Introduction and class logistics Chapter 1. Introduction to the study of innovation |
|
|
Oct 12 |
Chapter 2. The nature and role of intellectual property |
|
|
Oct 19 |
Chapter 3. The Measurement of Innovation, Productivity, and Growth |
Summary assignment 1 presentation |
|
Oct 26 |
Chapter 4. The National Innovation System [3] Motohashi, K. (2005). University–industry collaborations in Japan: The role of new technology-based firms in transforming the National Innovation System. Research policy, 34(5), 583-594. |
Summary assignment 2 Presentation |
|
Nov 2 |
Chapter 5. Innovative Firms and Markets |
Summary assignment 3 Presentation |
|
Nov 9 |
Chapter 6. Intellectual Property Rights and Firms |
Summary assignment 4 presentation |
|
Nov 16 |
Chapter 7. Diffusion and Social Returns [9] Teece, D. 1986. “Profiting from Technological Innovation,” Research Policy, 15, pp. 285-305. |
Summary assignment 5 Presentation |
|
Nov 30 |
* Checkup the research paper proposals 10 mins presentation of the research idea + feedbacks |
|
|
Dec 7 |
* Checkup the research paper proposals (continued) 10 mins presentation of the research idea + feedbacks Advanced topic1: Geography of innovation |
Summary assignment 6 presentation |
|
Dec 14 |
Advanced topic2: Platform and Ecosystem [14] Wareham, J., Fox, P.
B. and Ginder, J. L. (2014), Technology
Ecosystem Governamce, Organization Science, 25(4), 1195-1215 |
Summary assignment 7 presentation |
|
Dec 21 |
Advanced topic3: Role of university and university reform [15] Yongli Tang, Kazuyuki Motohashi, Xinyue Hu, Angeles Montoro-Sanchez, "University-industry interaction and product innovation performance of Guangdong manufacturing firms: the roles of regional proximity and research quality of universities", The Journal of Technology Transfer, 2019, 1-41 |
Summary assignment 8 presentation |
|
Jan 4 |
Advanced Topic4: New indicators for technological evolution & Course review + Q&A |
Summary assignment 9 presentation |
|
Jan 11 |
Research proposal presentation |
|
|
Jan 25 |
Research proposal presentation 2 (if necessary) |
|