Science, technology and innovation policies in Latin America: Do they work?

Abstract

"All countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have defined and implemented science, technology and innovation (STI) policies with varying degrees of success within three broad economic models, "import substitution", "liberalization and privatization", and later, in some countries, "21st century socialism". While STI policies were being adopted and implemented within the three models, the rate of technological change greatly accelerated and changes in the innovation process occurred, passing from a linear to a non-linear model and further evolving into an "open" model. Such changes induced a growing complexity in the national innovation systems and present new challenges to STI policy making. The adopted policies permitted significant advances, evidenced by existing indicators; however, the LAC region as a whole lags behind other regions. Numerous studies have analyzed this situation and more recently, in the context of an IDRC funded project, the present study surveyed current and former STI leaders for an indepth analysis of the effectiveness and impact of public STI policies. The responses highlight the achievements and problems that the development of STI faces in LAC. Existing dissatisfaction with the application of the liberalization process and other economic reforms of the 1990's, call for a new development agenda that must include STI to succeed. This requires, in turn, new conditions and rules for governance, in particular policy making, so that STI are stimulated and guided by the search for solutions to existing social and economic challenges considering the growing complexity of innovation systems."