Public Technology Procurement and Innovation

This is a study of public technology procurement as an instrument of innovation policy. Public technology procurement has been a relatively neglected topic in the theoretical and research literature on the economics of innovation. Similarly, preoccupation with "supply-side" measures has led policy-makers to avoid making very extensive use of this important "demand-side" instrument. These trends have been especially pronounced in the European Union. There, existing legislation governing public procurement presents obstacles to the use of public technology procurement as a means of stimulating and supporting technological innovation. However, there has been a gradual re-awakening of practical interest in such measures among policy-makers in the EU and elsewhere. For these and other related measures, this volume aims to contribute to a serious reconsideration of public technology procurement from the complementary standpoints of innovation theory and innovation policy.