The Lisbon Agenda (2000, 2005) 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. Invention and experimentation in industry is central to these processes but innovation involves more than invention, science and technology, or R&D. Innovation needs to be appropriately managed, organised and financed. The role of finance in innovation is poorly understood but the effective operation of the credit and financial markets that supply finance and monitor and redistribute the returns to innovation will be essential to the long term economic and social coherence of Europe.
Understanding these complex processes requires an inter-disciplinary approach that analyses different kinds of bank and venture funding, the operation of equity markets and innovation, the evolution of markets, and the consequences of the varied forms of finance in Europe on income distribution and employment generation. The social consequences of different forms of financing innovation, investment and corporate growth are particularly important in Europe as they are likely to have far-reaching consequences for job creation and job destruction across different types of firms.
Find out how FINNOV research addresses the current financial crisis and why a European perspective is key, or learn more about the innovative methodology being used to achieve the FINNOV project aims.
