Innovation in Brazil: Advancing Development in the 21st Century

Since the early 2000s, state-led and innovation-focused strategies have characterized the approach to development pursued in countries around the world, such as China, India, and South Korea. Brazil, the largest and most industrialized economy in Latin America, demonstrates both the opportunities and challenges of this approach. Over the course of nearly 20 years, the Brazilian government enacted various policies and programs designed to strengthen the country’s capacity to innovate. It increased spending on science and technology, encouraged greater collaboration between industry and universities, and fostered the creation of new institutions whose primary aim was to facilitate greater private research and development (R&D) spending.

In this book, the editors unite a diverse array of empirical contributions around a few key themes, including public policies, institutions and innovation ecosystems, and firms and industries, that collectively make the case for a new, forward-looking innovation agenda aimed at addressing persistent challenges and exploiting emerging opportunities in Brazil. Its conclusions offer valuable lessons for other developing and emerging economies seeking to accelerate innovation and growth in the modern age.

With its interdisciplinary and wide-ranging contribution to the study of innovation, as well as attention to broader policy implications, this book will appeal to scholars and professionals alike.

Elisabeth B. Reynolds is Executive Director of MIT’s Industrial Performance Center and Lecturer in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning.

Ben Ross Schneider is Ford International Professor of Political Science at MIT and Director of the MIT-Brazil program.

Ezequiel Zylberberg is a Research Affiliate at MIT’s Industrial Performance Center.