Finance, Innovation and Equity

Innovation is the fundamental engine of growth, employment and quality of life. Yet, whether we look at it from the point of view of income distribution, welfare, quality of life, scientific advances or simple profitability, its advantages are unevenly distributed.

Current projects 

Open Political Economy Group (OPEG)

In the aftermath of the global economic crisis, an upsurge of interest in political economy has sought to rejuvenate economic thinking about the functioning of capitalism. To improve the visibility of this work, academics and students from across the OU have formed the Open Political Economy Group.

Completed projects

Financial Institutions and Economic Security

Driven by industrial innovation, in the last half of the 20th century, the populations of the advanced nations of North America and Europe attained, on average, very high standards of living. Yet, in the first decade of the 21st century, large numbers of people in these nations are economically insecure.

Finance, Innovation and Growth (FINNOV)

By bringing together scholars from the fields of economics of innovation, applied industrial economists, political economists and business historians FINNOV offers direct insights on the scope for European innovation policy and tries to identify the technological and market conditions which foster innovation and growth.

Firm Growth Dynamics under Different Knowledge Regimes

The project studies co-evolution of innovation and firm performance measures (such as growth rates, profits and stock prices) during different periods of the industry life-cycle and in different 'types' of industries.

Culture and Innovation Dynamics: Explaining the Uneven Evolution of Human Knowledge

Innovation is the fundamental engine of growth, employment and better quality of life. Yet, whether we look at it from the point of view of income distribution, welfare effects, quality of life, scientific advances, or sheer profitability, we observe that such advantages are unevenly distributed.

Finance, Innovation and Inequality

The Lisbon Agenda set out a new industrial policy for an enlarged European Union that aims to enhance long-term economic performance and improve the ability of European firms to generate innovation and growth. This will require improvements in the generation of new knowledge and better translation of new inventions into the commercial innovations that generate productivity improvements and economic growth.

Regional Analysis, Innovation, Knowledge and Entrepreneurship (RAIKE) Research Exchange

This research exchange seeks to bring together three interdisciplinary areas within a multi-disciplinary framework. It builds on the strengths of scholarship, research expertise and leadership, as well as research units and centres within the OUBS and The Open University.