| Abstract: |
This introductory chapter summarizes 20 years of research activities, which
started at Universit´e libre de Bruxelles (ULB) with a four-year scholarship
in 1992. These years are tainted by a focus on empirical research, by
intensive local and international collaborations, and by a series of
fieldexperiences which became key sources of inspiration and gradually
improved the contextualization of the research projects I was involved with.
The broad research contributions I have been involved with are twofold: I
started with the effectiveness of science and technology policies, and then
focused on the effectiveness of patent systems. Effectiveness has two
meanings. The first one is related to the systematic search for improvement,
the constant questioning of status quo, of existing policies, with the
identification of their strengths and weaknesses. The second meaning of
effectiveness is related to the improvement of data and metrics needed to
properly analyze policy tools, and the search for more appropriate indicators.
The papers presented in this book all aim at improving metrics and using new
data and indicators in order to contribute to improve our knowledge on whether
and how policy tools work. The effectiveness of science and technology
policies is assessed through their impact on research and development (R&D)
efforts and on growthprospects. We have investigated to what extent and under
which circumstances R&D subsidies and R&D tax credits stimulate private R&D
and contribute to productivity growth. The effectiveness of patent systems is
assessed through the lenses of their costs, their operational design,
theirtransparency and the stringency of the examination processes. The outcome
of these 20 years of research includes about 60 publications in international
peer reviewed scientific journals and one co-authored book published by Oxford
University Press. Each of these publications was a small challenge, at least
the way I perceived it. We had to reach a final version, present it at
conferences, submit it for publication, cope with sometimes tough referees,
dive again into the paper more than a year later and implement the required
changes, and re-submit it with a polite letter to the referees and the editor.
The main common denominator I would chose to summarize my research experience
is ‘mobility’, defined in its broadest sense: mobility or flexibility with
respect to career expectations, with respect to internationalization, with
respect to institutional experience, and with respect to collaborations. The
sources of inspiration of most papers were nearly systematically drawn from my
professional experience. For instance, the priority issues that had to be
tackled by the Research Institute of the Ministry of External Trade and
Industry (METI) when I was visiting researcher, the benchmarking exercises
requested by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
task forces when I was full-time consultant in Paris, and several debates
which took place at the board of the European Patent Office when I was its
Chief Economist had a direct influence on the research projects I later worked
on. |