Culture, Innovation, and Growth Dynamics

This book argues that ideas and values are not readily applicable and transferable to all situations and that the necessary condition for an idea, which is conceived in one context, to be effective elsewhere, is that it must be stripped from its original context and become value-free. Because ideas are products and consequences of distinct historical experiences and cultural evolutions, they retain specificities that cannot be co-opted into other settings. Therefore, past economic models based on one formula have failed as they have not taken into consideration historical, political, and social complexities. The book emphasizes that neither modernization, which was enabled by industrialization and technological innovation, nor modernity as the dominant Western intellectual paradigm, has achieved betterment of human society in either western or non-western parts of the world.  Part of the book's objective is rethinking the dominant paradigm as we face an existential crisis that requires a new social contract that is more inclusive and attentive to diversity of cultural histories and identities. We must bear in mind that diversity is a strength and the very essence of our identity.  This seminal work is essential reading for researchers of economic growth and development study, political science, and innovation.

Elias G. Carayannis is Full Professor of Science, Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, as well as co-Founder and co-Director of the Global and Entrepreneurial Finance Research Institute (GEFRI) and Director of Research on Science, Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the European Union Research Center (EURC) at the School of Business at George Washington University, USA. Carayannis' teaching and research activities focus on the areas of strategic Government-University-Industry R&D partnerships, technology road-mapping, technology transfer and commercialization, international science and technology policy, technological entrepreneurship and regional economic development.

Ali Pirzadeh has more than 25 years' experience as an Economist in the fields of Development Economics, Institutional Economics, Macroeconomics, and Transitional Economies. He has taught, researched, and worked with universities, government institutions and international organizations in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Middle East. Pirzadeh received his PhD in Economics and MS in Economics from University of Washington, his MA in Sociology from University of Massachusetts, and his MEd in Education from Suffolk University.