Today's middle-income countries tend to be locked in a middle-income trap, unable to transition to higher income levels due to rising costs and declining competitiveness. While there is a broad consensus that upgrading these economies towards innovation-led growth is imperative, countless institutional and political economy obstacles remain. This book brings together analytical perspectives from comparative political economy, innovation studies, and development economics for the study of technological upgrading. Its distinctive contribution is the development of an innovative theoretical framework, named upgrading regimes, combining and extending the comparative capitalism and innovation system perspectives. It explores the usefulness of this approach by providing an indepth assessment of the political economy of upgrading in Brazil under the Workers' Party governments. As the politics of technological upgrading will be one of the crucial research areas in the years to come, this book promises to become a key reference point in this debate.

Explains theories from comparative, international, and historical political economy Offers an accessible introduction to political economy grounded in the social sciences Provides slides and additional learning material in the Springer Nature Flashcard app

Autorentext

Michael Schedelik is Lecturer and Research Associate at the Institute of Political Science at Goethe University Frankfurt where he teaches Comparative and International Political Economy. His research focuses on the politics of growth and innovation in developing and emerging economies.

Inhalt

Part I. Theory and Frames.- 1 The Quest for Technological Upgrading in Emerging Economies.- 2 Theoretical Framework: The Political Economy of Upgrading Regimes.- Part II. Technological Upgrading in Brazil: Achievements and Challenges.- 3 Evidence on Innovation Capacity Building.- 4 Political Coordination and Socio-economic Coalitions.- 5 Research & Development and Competition Policy.- 6 Finance.- 7 Education, Training, and Labor.- 8 International Integration.- 9 Macroeconomic Management and Domestic Demand.- Part III. Comparative Perspectives.- 10 Complementarities and Comparisons.- 11 Conclusions.