Title: Innovation System Framework and Evolutionary Economics Theory Perspectives on African Economic Devel
1Innovation System Framework and Evolutionary
Economics Theory Perspectives on African Economic
Development and Integration
- Mammo Muchie
- Coordinator DIIPER Aalborg University
- IKE-Workshop on Innovation,Instuition and
Development - May 6,2008
2Overview
- Inspiration
- Problems of African Economic Development
- Problems with Theories of Development Economics
- The Relevance of Friedrich Lists Theory of
Productive Power to Africa
3Overview
- National System of Innovation
- Towards the creation of an integrated African
economic system - Future research
- Concluding Remarks
4The main objective
- The objective is to explore, imagine and wonder
if indeed what the builders rejected can become
the cornerstone of the arch! - To explore whether traditional development
economic theory has addressed, overlooked or
ignored the core issues of African development. - And search for a more robust theoretical
alternative that is open to reinstating in some
way the core issues of what should be the
African quest for structural transformation.
5Inspiration
- The three principal reactive-reactionary theses,
which I call the perversity thesis or thesis of
the perverse effect, the futility thesis, and the
jeopardy thesis. According to the perversity
thesis, any purposive action to improve some
feature of the political, social, or economic
order only serves to exacerbate the condition one
wishes to remedy. The futility thesis holds that
attempts at social transformation will be
unavailing, that they will simply fail to make a
dent. Finally, the jeopardy thesis argues that
the cost of the proposed change or reform is too
high as it endangers some previous, precious
accomplishment. ( Hirshman, 1991, p.7)
6Inspiration
- I should add to Hirshmans three theses, a
fourth one and that is what people often say
when I argue for an integrated African national
economy, they say it is too unrealistic and even
illusory. Thus I encapsulate their worries as the
illusory thesis, which says that the pursuit
of African integration is too pie in the sky
dream, fantasy, utopian, unrealistic , which
distracts from taking realistic incremental
actions and thus by foreclosing such options
becomes itself dangerous!
7Inspiration
- So I plan to do the dangerous thing of arguing
for an integrated African economy by engaging
with and critquing available theories to develop
hopefully original new synthesis. - The only risk to avoid is not to take risk, even
if that may lead you to land in ridicule!
8Problem of African development
- After half a century of colonial freedomAfrica
as a continent still has an economic size less
than the economic size of France! - Sub-Saharan Africas economic size is less than
the economic size of Holland! - Yet there are 54 states, 54 policies plus the
unwelcome imposition of often the one size fits
all policies from outside that most of these
states do not seem able to avoid or afford, or
can reject if harmful!
9map
10Africa
- 30,221,532 km²
- 941,249,130 people (2007 estimate)
- 2nd largest and 2nd most-populous continent
- 6 of the Earth's total surface area
- 20.4 of the total land area
- Total GDP of 3,178,132, 000, 000.00
- 2007 international dollars through estimated
purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates
11Problems of African Development
- Politically...formal independence without an
African agency - Economically... Continued fragmentation means
dependence will still continue, poverty and
insecurity too! - Intellectually knowledge creation and use often
not geared to bring about structural
transformation of an integrated African economy - Integrating research, training, creativities,
governing, producing and circulating within an
Africa wide economic system not in existence yet - Creation of an African national system of
production and consumption a major challenge - Linking academy, industry, government and labour
on an African scale and scope talked about but
not implemented.
12Problems of African Development
- The need for African Integration- rich in
rhetoric, but dismal failure in taking even a few
actions to do actual integration except for the
natural cross-border ones! - The EUs 2005 strategy speaks of a one Africa
framework for its EPA whilst continuing to
differentiate its policies to different states
and regions within Africa!
13Official African attempt to integrate
- Addis Ababa Declaration of 1973
- introverted, endogenous and self-supporting
growth - Kinshasa Declaration of 1976
- free ownership and control of natural resources
by ensuring permanent sovereignty of African
countries, the establishment of multinational
companies, the establishment of the African
common market, the African Energy Commission, and
the African Economic Community within a period of
15 to 20 years - Monrovia Symposium in 1980
- in favour of national and collective
self-sufficiency in economic and social
development, with a view establishing a new
Economic Order in Africa - Recovery Programme (South Africa)
14Official African attempt to integrate
- Lagos Plan of Action and Final Act of Lagos 1990
- principle of individual autonomy and collective
self-sufficiency - Abuja Treaty of 1991/4
- establishing the African Economic Community
- Sirte Declaration of1999
- African Union
- NePAD
- merger between the OMEGA Plan (Senegal) and the
Millennium Partnership for the African Recovery
Programme (South Africa)
15African Economic Community
- The creation of free trade areas, customs unions,
a single market, a central bank, and a common
currency - Establishing an economic and monetary union
Institute for Economic Research on Innovation
16African Economic Community
- AEC founded through the Abuja Treaty, signed in
1991 and entered into force in 1994 is envisioned
to be created in six stages - 1999 - Creation of regional blocs in regions
where such do not yet exist - 2007 - Strengthening of intra-REC integration and
inter-REC harmonisation - 2017 - Establishing of a free trade area and
customs union in each regional bloc - 2019 - Establishing of a continent-wide customs
union (and thus also a free trade area) - 2023 - Establishing of a continent-wide African
Common Market (ACM) - 2028 - Establishing of a continent-wide economic
and monetary union (and thus also a currency
union) and Parliament - End of all transition periods 2034 at the latest
Institute for Economic Research on Innovation
17Regional Economic Communities
- Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD)
- Economic Community of Central African States
(ECCAS) - Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
(COMESA) - Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS) - Intergovernmental Authority for Development
(IGAD) - Southern African Development Community (SADC)
- Union du Maghreb Arabe (UMA)
18Problems of African Development
- Over 200 integration schemes, but no recognisable
and substantive integration yet! - The central problem of African development is
linked to whether or not Africa is indeed
integratable and can be integrated! - A recognition of Africas experience and history
implies locating the core of the development in
the dynamics of integrating Africa - African integration is one of the few things that
remains to advance Africas independence, agency
and post-colonial freedom.
19Problems of African development
- African integration follows logically from
Africas specific experience and history(past)
and the project to transform the economy
structurally from its fragile state into a self-
sustaining robust state (future)! - Any theorising that ignores Africas experience
and history in its theoretical arsenal is likely
to be more of a problem than help to bring
Africas independence and transformation. - Let us see how development economic theorising
dealt with this core issue of African development
20Problems with Development Economics(DE) Its Rise
and Decline
- Albert Hirschman, one of the founders of
development economics said - Development economics is a comparatively young
area of inquiry. It was both born just about a
generation ago, as a subdiscipline of economics,
with a number of other social sciences looking on
both sceptically and jealously from a
distance.(Albert Hirschman,1981)
21Development Economics the early Core themes
- Rural underemployment and disguised unemployment
- Late industrialisation
- Utilisation of undermployed manpower
- Accelerate capital accumulation
- Deliberate intensification and guided effort
- New rationality for protection, planning and
industrialisation
22The Early Strategies for Economic Development
- Industralization
- Rapid capital accumulation
- Mobilisation of underemployed manpower
- Planning and an economically active state
23DEs Contribution
- Development economists claimed that neo-classical
economics did not apply to underdeveloped
countries - But this is not a big deal, since neo-classical
economics cannot be said to apply anywhere! - Only a few East Asian economies industralised
- Different models Balanced growth, big push, dual
economy and so on - Internally the debate raged to write the
obituary of development economics or find new
themes to sustain it
24Variation in themes
- The positions polarised from those that
originated the field( Colin G. Clark(1939), Paul
N.Rosenstein-Rodan(1943), Kurt Mandelbaum(1947)
and others such as Bert F.Hoselitz, Ragnar
Nurske, Jacob Viner and Hla Myint - To those who advocated development, planning and
economic growth (Arthur Lewis, Jan Tinbergen,
Nicholas Kaldor, Joan Robinson, Maurice Dobb,
Hans Singer, Gunnar Myrdal, Simon Kuznets, Hollis
B. Chenery and Irma Adelman
25DE-as Social development?
- And those that stress economic development as
social development and who inverted and made
economics a special case of development economics
(e.g. Dudley Seers), Theodore Shultz(who stressed
human resources development, skills and
education) Paul Streeten Mahbub Ul-Haq (human
development), E.F.Schumacher (Small is
beautiful)) - And the structuralists(Raul Prebisch, Ceso
Furtado,) and neo Marxian theory( Paul Baran,
Paul Sweezy, Andre Gunder Fran, Samir Amin)
26Neo-Classical/Neo-liberal DE
- Anti structuralists and neo-liberal school
(Alexander Gerschenkron, Walt Rostow, Peter baur,
Anne Krueger, Ian Little, Harry Johnson, Bela
Balassa and Deepak Lal) - Their thesis was simple government intervention
did not only not improve development, it in fact
thwarted it. - The emergence of huge bureaucracies and state
regulations, they argued, suffocated private
investment and distorted prices making developing
economies extraordinarily inefficient. - In their view, the ills of unbalanced growth,
dependency, etc. were all ascribed to too much
government dirigisme, not too little.
27DE
- Early DE equated development with growth and
industralisation - Eveloping countries seen as primitive versions
of Europe with time to grow into their civilised
status! - Qustionining industralisation unsustainable if
it comes with human cost(e.g.population,
inequality, agriculture, urban dev.,education,
health, unemployment).Treat these issues not
simply as appendages of underlying growrh thesis! - Populist theories questioned growth(e.g.Schumacher
) - Structuralism not primitive versions but with
distinct structural problems! Country specific
analyses necessary (Albert Hirschmann(1958) - Dirigisme more of a problem to development than
help(neo- classicals)
28Dispute still sizzles
- What is interesting about development economics
is that the normative stance of the particular
theorist clearly informs the choices of issues,
themes and remedies preferred. - In recent years, the Neoclassical thesis has
gained greater adherence, particularly in Latin
America. - However, the evidence of why economic growth or
failure is still ambivalent and disputed. - Both structuralists and counter-structuralists
point to fast East Asian development and
disastrous African experience as proofs of their
directly opposing theses.
29The Two Directions to reject or overcome
thematic deficiency?
- In the 80s arguments from the Right stressed the
neglect of the market and the unacceptable state
activism in the economy - Amartya Sen came up with an argument of taking
the issue beyond the simple state and market
dichotomy and opening DE to themes to what may
prolong the life of development economics
30Sens Attempted Improvement
- Sen admitted that traditional development
economics may not have been as dismissable as
various trends suggest. - Instead he acknowledged what he calls thematic
deficiency at the core of development economic
theorising
31Sens Attempted improvement
- He argued concentration on national product,
aggregate income, total supply of public goods,
capital accumulation, the creation of surplus
may be necessary but not sufficient to get
development that includes the least advantaged. - He stressed entitlements of people and
capabilities these entitlements generate is the
relevant thematic choice for development
economics. - Sen said the process of economic development has
to be concerned with what people can and cannot
do or to use his words have reason to value and
choose to do!
32Still Development Economics Remains Polarized!
- Development economics has bifurcated into
neo-liberal versions (Poverty of Development
Economics, 1981) and its critiques (The Dilemma
of Development by John Toye,1987) on the one
hand, and the Amartya Sen thematic extension from
national product to entitlement and capability
leading to human development and inclusions of
social specific themes such as gender,
deprivation, hunger , basic needs and
environment.
33Lists Theory
- Sens capability-building theme seems to resonate
with Lists theory of productive power! - However Sens capability is built on the premise
of the economy of the individual and Lists
productive power is to improve, progress and
develop a nation! - For List economic development is in reality the
analysis of the economic progress of nations
in reality that appears to be what economics as a
whole is designed to be about. Is it? -
34Friedrich Lists Theory
- The theory of productive power by List can
provide a fresh thematic extension to both Sens
capability theme and development economics - The merit of his theory is that it starts by
affirming experience and history of nations
rather than beginning with abstractions such as
industrialisation, planning, capital accumulation
and utilising the underemployed. - It contexualises its theory of productive power
with the idea of the national interest and even
the national passion
35Lists Justification of his theory
- His theory of productive power can be built as
the core theme of the theory of development
economics - Individuals, nations and humanity are distinct
- The sum of individual interests is not to be
equated with the interest of a nation (185674) - Social interests diverge from private
interests(ibid.245)
36Lists Justification
- The economy of the individual is different from
the economy of the nation, and the economy of the
global human interest is different from both
(p.vi) - Some nations can be concerned more for their
national welfare than the welfare of humanity! - So they can choose expanding productive forces
through protection than expanding global welfare
through free trade - They preach free trade, but they practice
protection! - Could it be that what was in the interest of
England is thought to be in the interest of the
world!
37Lists Justification
- The production based economics (List) vs.
Exchangeable values and allocations through
international trade (Adam Smith) have different
development outcomes! - Trading in cooked and manufactured vs raw and
agricultural goods not the same thing!
38Lists theoretical justification
- Theory of productive power is more than
commodities, money and factors of production or
natural advantages - It is above all a realisation that division of
labour presupposes national unity, national
independence, a shared project and cooperation of
productive forces (p.74) - List was castigated as a dangerous enemy on
account of his endeavouring to rescue his country
completely from the manufacturing monoploy of
England (ibid.viii- translator of American
version of Lists tome!)
39Lists strategies
- Industralisation and manufacturing to be driven
by a capable nation and state - Incentives to those who take risks of creating
new industries - Building the capital of the mind and training and
spreading education to cover comprehensively the
nation as a whole - Choice of industries for protection on the basis
of knowledge, experience and linkages with the
rest of the national economy (p.69) - Development of agriculture necessary to
industralise
40Lists strategies
- Industries of luxury to recieve attention until
in the last phase(p.392) - Trade is an instrument of development, progress
and independence (ibid.) - Protection is also a means to development,
independence and liberty for free trade (p.64) - Improving, developing and preserving the nation
is the principal purpose of a nation(p.70) - Supported regional integration of German cities
and the union of interest of various states such
as Belgium, Denmark, Holland and Hungary!
41 Relevance for national development
- List is right in his claim that a national
political economy facing constraints needs to
find a way to organise transformation! - Those that trade in raw materials and agriculture
remain underdeveloped - Those that build productive power have made it
(e.g.USA, Germany, Japan, East Asian Tigers) - The lesson is clear if a nation wants to
develop, it has to organise its national system
of political economy with a logic of stimulating
rapidly and comprehensively productive power. - Otherwise it can have very rich minerals and
agriculture and territorial size, but will remain
underveloped!
42The Puzzle for Africa
- The national system of innovation concept derived
from the Listian tradition in the context of
Africa may be a provocation - In the context where the national in Africa is
not well defined! - In the context where institutionsdo not
function with a predictable system and
rationality - Where learning and capability are not mobilised
to advance African transformation with
deliberation and focus! - Where the misplaced focus on thematic deficiency
underemphasises framework deficiency that is the
root of misplaced theorisinf wrt Africa!
43The Research Challenge
- We are not saying the African NSI exists!
- We are saying the national innovation system has
to be made in Africa! - We are not dealing with an already made situation
- We need economic theories that can stimulate
and assist original research
44National Innovation approach
45Linkages for Co-evolution
46Unifying model of SI
- Technology
- ICT
- Nano-tech
- Bio-tech
- Space
- Nation
- Region
- local
- Sector
- Agriculture
- Manufacturing
- Pharmacy
- electronics
- Political
- Ideology
- Governance
- Institutions
- policies
- Economical
- Market
- Agents
- Incentives
Knowledge Technology Hybrids
System of Innovation
- Innovation
- Product
- Process
- Organisational
- institutional
47Unifying model of SI
System of Innovation
- Political
- Ideology
- Governance
- Institutions
- Policies
- Economical
- Market
- Agents
- Incentives
- Knowledge
- Technology
- Hybrids
- Space
- Nation
- Region
- local
- Technology
- ICT
- Nano-tech
- Bio-tech
- Sector
- Agriculture
- Manufacturing
- Pharmacy
- Electronics
- Innovation
- Product
- Process
- Organisational
- Institutional
48Evolutionary Economics
- Stimulate and understand inter economic and
non-economic actor interactions and dynamics, - Co-evoution of economic and non-economic
governing institutions, practices and
understanding (Richard Nelson) - The interaction of policies, knowledge,
incentives, instuitions, practices and the
understanding involved in the process - System building, to identify significant
interactions and interfacing of parts, - Bridge the gap between theory and reality,
- The sources and organisation for stimulating
innovation, imagination and creativity, learning
and comptence building - How routines are formed and novelties emerge
49Evolutionary Economics
- Integrating Africa or making the Africa nation
itself is an evolutionary problem of dynamics,
of creative destruction,requiring evolutionary
approaches to understanding and creating
knowledge - Evolutionary economic theory has such concepts
that can be useful to stimulate research in
making an integrated African economy. -
50Evolutionary Economics
- It has the concepts that can be appropriated to
fit with what Africa has to do to survive in a
difficult world. - For example the main development problem is to
integrate Africa to imagine the Africa nation
and make it! - Evolutionary economic tools can be useful in the
process!
51DangerAppropriation or Mimicry
- We know theoretical and empirical work mainly
done for developed economies using evolutionary
economics and the NSI - Appropriation is legitimate if what is learned is
how this has been done, and why it has been done
the way it has rather than copying what is is
done well! - The problem is how to use evolutionary economics
and especially the NSI to do a research
diagnosis on Africas economics now and its
likely evoutionary trajectories
52Danger appropriation or mimicry
- We are not going to use ready made formula but
explore the evoution of Africas economic system
as it is in order to find better ways of
stimulating structural transformation - No need not thus to engage in controversy on
whether to apply evolutionary economics or NSI! - Some suggest important revisions may be needed
- Others say that radical modification not needed.
- For me this is a non-issueto develop, nations
need to engage in the dynamics of acquring
Existing knowledge and make New knowledge
themselves (Richard Nelson)
53Acquiring and making
- In fact to acquire better and better existing
knowledge they must build their own R D
capability also. - It is not either acquiring the existing or making
new.. It is making to acquire in order to make
new and build on a continuous spiral enhancing a
simulatenous mutuality in the practice and the
understanding(Ibid.) - It is both know how as practice and the learning
and understanding to create novel practices that
recreate more and better learning that continues
in time and space!
54Why the NSI for Africa?
- A national system of innovation to promote a
national system of production - To enable a system creation to produce what
Africa consumes, and to consume what Africa
produces - To create Africa...wide producers and users
interactions (Lundvall85) - To embed knowledge creation,innovation, learning
in africas institutions,societies - To inject a total learning and innovation culture
in Africa - To retain African resources to stimulate african
development
55The Research Orientation to build on
- The economy of the
- nation
- Systems
- Co-evoutions
- Interactions
- Innovation
- Learning
- Comptence building
- The organisation of productive power
- Africa..nation
- Integration
- Structural transformation
- Relation with the world economy
- Agency and independence
- capability accumulation
56The Research Orientation to Decline
- Continue to search for solution within the
existing arbitrary arrangements as they are in
Africa - That continues to engage, interrogate and
critique them - That tinkers with fragmented Africa
- That does not question dependence,
- Continues to taken the fragmentated status of
Africa asnormal - Fashions ideas and policies without questioning
such fragmentations - Blames Africans when conceptual and policy
results show more poverty creation than wealth
creation
57Concluding Remark
- Not all the states in Africa can catch up as they
are now! - Not sure even if they can catch up even if
regrouped as regions - Important to emerge united to deal with a world
economy and respond to its many challenges. - No alternative to learning and the social
innovation of uniting, if Africans and Africa are
to attain full dignity and humanity. -
-
58Concluding Remark
- A theory of African economic development that
confronts the key challenges of integration of
economy, society, knowledge, forging Pan-African
unity, stimulating the African Renaissance,
stregthening the AU/NEPAD, imagining and making
the Africa-nation and creating a vibrant African
public sphere of free citizens! - This theory of African development is likely to
emerge with a controversy and debate with the
available theories. - What Africa suffers is not thus from a thematic
deficiency in diagnosing its development
problematic.. It is the irrelevance of the
framework that ignores its specific experience,
history , project and dream to be free at the
core of the problem!
59Concluding Remark
- Can evolutionary economics help address this
framework deficiency.. That is the question. - The central task of evolutionary economics is to
provide three things - Understanding the myopia and evolutionary
dynamics of development - Providing an adequate explanatory structure of
the nature and dynamics of the development
process - Taking on board specific context, experience,
history, passion and asymmtric power distribution
within the world economy
60Thank You