Provides a systematic overview, analysis, framework, research agenda, and strategic directions for the study of public sector innovation. The authors discuss: how public organizations and public sector employees can innovate, barriers and impediments, governments' role for innovation, sources of innovation, types of innovation, ethics.
Europe and much of the developed world have been bogged down by stagnant economic growth and alarmingly high rates of unemployment. But not Germany. This book reveals seven key aspects of the German economy and society that have provided considerable buoyance in an era of global turbulence.
The strong productivity growth observed in the US and Scandinavian countries during the 1990s raises questions about the role of the ICT sector—encompassing computers, telecommunications, and digital services—as a driving force behind high growth in leading OECD nations. Empirical evidence from the US, including a mixed study by McKinsey, suggests it may be premature to fully reject Robert G. Gordon's hypothesis that the acceleration in US output growth is primarily due to cyclical factors and productivity gains in the computer sector, despite potential quality measurement issues. In contrast, research by Stiroh and others posits that ICT generates positive productivity spillovers to other sectors. The debate remains unresolved regarding whether the Old Economy or the New Economy benefits more from the innovation and productivity shifts linked to digital services. Additionally, the growing economic significance of the internet enhances the internationalization of the economy, as more services become tradable, with increasing import competition potentially driving productivity growth. If ICT is indeed pivotal in the new economy, this has significant implications for the differing levels of ICT implementation between Germany and the US.
In the new global economy, more countries have opened up to international competition and rapid capital flows. However, in the triad the process of globalization is rather asymmetric. With a rising role of multinational companies there are favorable prospects for higher global growth and economic catching-up, respectively. Theoretical analysis suggests key ingredients of sustained growth, but there is also a new concept of a long-term equilibrium income gap in which convergence is rather unlikely. The analysis also picks up European and US labor market issues in the context of economic globalization and raises the question of which EU policies in the field of labor market reform and of innovation policies are adequate.
High unemployment rates in the period of an internationalization of economies and an intensified technological competition are the main problems that exist in most EU countries. Taking stock of unemployment patterns, technological trends and employment opportunities in the EU and the US is crucial for the reform debate in Europe. In continental Europe, major problems are an insufficient creation of new firms in innovative technology fields, inadequate labor market developments and inconsistent R&D policies. Founded on new data evaluations, the book presents an innovative analysis of these topics and shows opportunities for reforms.