Missed Opportunities: Innovation and Resource-Based Growth in Latin America

No AccessPolicy Research Working Papers25 Jun 2013Missed Opportunities: Innovation and Resource-Based Growth in Latin AmericaAuthors/Editors: William F. MahoneyWilliam F. Mahoneyhttps://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-2935SectionsAboutPDF (0.2 MB) ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareFacebookTwitterLinked In Abstract:Latin America missed opportunities for rapid resource-based growth that similarly endowed countries—Australia, Canada, Scandinavia—were able to take advantage of. Fundamental to this poor performance was deficient technological adoption driven by two factors. First, deficient national "learning" or "innovative" capacity, arising from low investment in human capital and scientific infrastructure, led to weak ability to innovate or even take advantage of technological advances abroad. Second, the period of inward-looking industrialization discouraged innovation and created a sector whose growth depended on artificial monopoly rents rather than the quasi-rents arising from technological adoption, and at the same time undermined resource-intensive sectors that had the potential for dynamic growth. This paper—a product of the Office of the Chief Economist, Latin America and the Caribbean Region—was prepared as a background paper for the region's flagship report, From Natural Resources to the Knowledge Economy (2001). Previous bookNext book FiguresReferencesRecommendedDetailsCited ByEnvironmental Collapse and Institutional Restructuring: The Sanitary Crisis in the Chilean Salmon Industry16 April 2016Mushrooms and Yeast: The Implications of Technological Progress for Canada's Economic GrowthSSRN Electronic JournalExport diversification and structural changes in South AfricaJournal of Governance and Regulation, Vol.4, No.31 January 2015Engineers, Innovative Capacity and Development in the AmericasSSRN Electronic JournalCatching Up in the 21st Century: Globalization, Knowledge and Capabilities in Latin America, a Case for Natural Resource Based ActivitiesCost-Reducing R&D in the Presence of an Appropriation Alternative: An Application to the Natural Resource CurseSSRN Electronic JournalUnderstanding the development of technology-intensive suppliers in resource-based developing economiesResearch Policy, Vol.39, No.2Firm‐specific and economy wide determinants of firm profitabilityManagerial Finance, Vol.35, No.11The Role and Development of Technology-Intensive Suppliers in Resource-Based Economies: A Literature ReviewSSRN Electronic JournalUnderstanding the dynamics and competitiveness of the South African minerals inputs clusterResources Policy, Vol.31, No.1 View Published: December 2002 Copyright & Permissions Related RegionsLatin America & CaribbeanRelated CountriesArgentinaAustraliaCanadaChileUnited StatesRelated TopicsAgricultureEducationFinance and Financial Sector DevelopmentHealth Nutrition and PopulationIndustryMacroeconomics and Economic GrowthPrivate Sector DevelopmentRural DevelopmentSocial Protections and Labor KeywordsAGRICULTURECOMPETITIVENESSDEBTDEVELOPMENTDEVELOPMENT POLICIESHUMAN CAPITALINCENTIVESINDUSTRIALIZATIONINVESTMENTKNOWLEDGE ECONOMYLAGSMONOPOLYMONOPOLY RENTSNATURAL RESOURCESNET EXPORTSPOLITICAL ECONOMYPRODUCTIVITY GROWTHTECHNICAL ASSISTANCETOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITYTRADE PDF DownloadLoading ...