First Published in 1998

This book investigates the determinants of technological change and the role played by such change in the process of economic growth. The factors influencing the extent and dissemination of technological progress at the firm, industrial and societal levels are identified and the impact on the rate of economic growth of these factors is studied.

Government policies that seek to increase economic growth through both direct and indirect manipulation of the channels affecting technological change are then considered. A key finding of the book, as contained in chapter two, is that in some cases, government efforts to increase economic growth may actually have the opposite effect in the short-term before eventually yielding the desired results.