Routledge Handbook of Smart Technologies : An Economic and Social Perspective

This Handbook provides a thorough discussion of the most recent wave of technological (and organisational) innovations, frequently called “smart” and based on the digitisation of information. The acronym stands for "Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology". This new wave is one in a row of waves that have shaken up and transformed the economy, society and culture since the first Industrial Revolution and have left a huge impact on how we live, think, communicate and work: they have deeply affected the socioeconomic metabolism from within and humankind’s footprint on our planet. The Handbook analyses the origins of the current wave, its roots in earlier ones and its path-dependent nature; its current forms and actual manifestations; its multifarious impact on economy and society; and it puts forward some guesstimates regarding the probable directions of its further development. In short, the Handbook studies the past, the present and the future of smart technologies and digitalisation.

This cutting-edge reference will appeal to a broad audience, including but not limited to, researchers from various disciplines with a focus on technological innovation and their impact on the socioeconomic system; students across different fields but especially from economics, social sciences and law studying questions related to radical technological change and its consequences, as well as professionals around the globe interested in the debate of smart technologies and socioeconomic transformation, from a multi- and interdisciplinary perspective.

Heinz D. Kurz is Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of Graz, Austria, and a Fellow of the Graz Schumpeter Centre.

Marlies Schütz works as a postdoctoral researcher at the Graz Schumpeter Centre, University of Graz, Austria.

Rita Strohmaier is an economic researcher at the German Development Institute/ Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) in Bonn, Germany.

Stella S. Zilian, M.A. (Econ.), works as a researcher at the Graz Schumpeter Centre, University of Graz, Austria, and at the Institute for Heterodox Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business.