Overview

This unit aims to introduce students to economic perspectives on innovation including fundamental market failures and policy and organisational responses to these. In a world of finite physical inputs, innovation is the only sustainable source of growth in production and rising living standards. Themes and issues will be covered with reference to seminal literature and key surveys. Students will be introduced to a number of important datasets (using STATA), while developing a robust quantitative toolkit to become proficient at understanding and developing strategy and policy.

Requisites

Teaching periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date
Semester 2
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
04-August-2025
02-November-2025
Last self-enrolment date
17-August-2025
Census date
31-August-2025
Last withdraw without fail date
19-September-2025
Results released date
09-December-2025

Learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

  • Integrate the fundamental theories and principles of economics of knowledge, technology and innovation including (a) market failures and (b) innovation policies.
  • Critically assess the established and frontier research of intellectual property and its connection to economic growth and firm performance.
  • Demonstrate expertise in use of micro-data in understanding innovation economics.
  • Critically evaluate seminal economic models using datasets and tools which inform management and policy.

Teaching methods

Hawthorn

Type Hours per week Number of weeks Total (number of hours)
Face to Face Contact (Phasing out)
Seminar		12.00 3 weeks 36
Unspecified Learning Activities (Phasing out)
Independent Learning		9.50 12 weeks 114
TOTAL150

Assessment

Type Task Weighting ULO's
AnalysisIndividual 10% 2,3,4 
In-Class PresentationIndividual 30% 3,4 
Research EssayIndividual 60% 1,2 

Content

  • How economies grow and reasons rich countries grow richer
  • Role of innovation in firm performance
  • Suboptimal socially optimal investment in knowledge with free markets
  • Policy and organisational responses to market failures
  • Mechanisms in which intellectual property enhances innovation
  • Costs and Benefts associated with intellectual property rights
  • Factors contributing to scientific progress
  • Role of universities and public research in the national innovation system
  • Relationship between science and technology
  • Spatial concentration of inovation and how it relates to agglomeration forces

Study resources

Reading materials

A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.