Dominique Foray

dominique.foray@epfl.ch +41 21 693 00 35 http://cemi.epfl.ch
Citizenship: French and Swiss
EPFL > VPA-AVP-DLE > AVP-DLE-EDOC > EDMT-ENS
Fields of expertise
- Science and technology indicators
- Technology policy
- Knowledge-based economy
- Innovation & development
- Smart specialization
Current work
In this section, I describe my main current research topics and my main recent publications as well as some works in progress related to each of these topics*SMART SPECIALISATION AND INNOVATION POLICIES IN THE EU AND BEYOND
-"Smart specialisation strategies: Insights from a unique European Policy experiment on innovation and industrial Policy designed", with M.Eichler and M.Keller, submitted to Review of Evolutionary Political Economy, 2020
-"In response to
Biography
1 - Current occupations and activitiesI am Full Professor at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and hold the Chair of Economics and Management of Innovation (CEMI).
I am a member of the Swiss Council for Science (SWR); chairman of the Advisory Board of the Swiss Economic Research Institute (KOF); and a foreign member of the Center of Capitalism and Society (Columbia University, New York).
From 2007 to 2015, I served as a member of the Swiss National Research Council (Division IV - Large Scale Programs)
From 2013 to 2016, I was a member of the Expert Commission for Research and Innovation of Germany (E-FI) and a member of the Expert Group for the National Report on Research and Innovation (SBFI, Switzerland).
From 2008 to 2011, I served as chairman of the expert group Knowledge for Growth; a group of prominent economists created to advise Commissioner J. Potocnik (European Commission, DG research). This is during this service as member of this Group that I developed the concept of smart specialisation (together with P.A.David and B.Hall) that is now a key policy mechanism of the EU (cohesion policy).
My expertise includes the economics of innovation and knowledge and the economic policy implications of the new knowledge-based economy. I have presented many opening speeches and key note address in academic and policy conferences on these topics. I have written numerous academic papers as well as two books and have edited several books and special issues in these fields. Among these books,I like to highlight :
Technology and the Wealth of Nations (Pinter, 1992) ed.with C.Freeman;
Unemployment and Growth in the Knowledge-based Economy (OECD, 1996), ed. with B.A.Lundvall;
Knowledge economies and societies (a special issue of the International Social Science Journal, Basil Blackwell, 2002, with editions in French, Spanish, Chinese, Arabs, Russian);
The Economics of knowledge (MIT press, 2004, paperback in 2006) with editions in France, Italy, Korea, China, Greece, Syria and Algeria
The New Economics of Technology Policy(Edward Elgar)2009, ed.;
. Smart specialisation : opportunities and challenges for regional innovation policy(Routledge, 2015)
Since 2017, I regularly contribute to the Swiss Science Council blog: https://blog.wissenschaftsrat.ch/
2 Education, previous appointments and academic positions
- I received my Ph.D. in economics in 1984 and my "habilitation à diriger des recherches" in 1992 from the University Lumière of Lyon.
- In 1985, I joined the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) as a Research Fellow in economics.
- In 1990, I joined the Ecole Centrale de Paris as professor of economics, and taught in the program ingénieur économiste.
- In 1993, I was nominated as Research Director at CNRS and joined the Institut pour le Management de la Recherche et de l
PUBLICATIONS
=> Dominique ForayPublications
Infoscience publications
Publications
2024
Innovation Economics for Future Times
Innovations. 2024. DOI : 10.3917/inno.pr2.0164.New ideas for funding scientific research in areas of societal relevance -analyzing the co-evolution of research methods and financial tools
20242022
The Economics of Incomplete Plan - on Conditions, Procedures and Design of Future Mission - Oriented Innovation Policies
Hacienda Publica Espanola-Review Of Public Economics. 2022. DOI : 10.7866/HPE-RPE.22.4.6.2021
The formation of Coasean institutions to provide university knowledge for innovation: a case study and econometric evidence for Switzerland
Journal Of Technology Transfer. 2021. DOI : 10.1007/s10961-020-09828-z.Immigration, Innovation, and Knowledge Diffusion
Lausanne, EPFL, 2021. DOI : 10.5075/epfl-thesis-8345.Smart specialization strategies – insights gained from a unique European policy experiment on innovation and industrial policy design
Review of Evolutionary Political Economy. 2021. DOI : 10.1007/s43253-020-00026-z.2020
Six additional replies - one more chorus of the S3 ballad
European Planning Studies. 2020. DOI : 10.1080/09654313.2020.1797307.On the economics of social innovation - a conceptual framework and its policy implications
Innovation - Organization & Management. 2020. DOI : 10.1080/14479338.2020.1735394.Institutions and Incentives in Knowledge Production and Diffusion: From Science to Innovation
Lausanne, EPFL, 2020. DOI : 10.5075/epfl-thesis-10231.COVID-19 : Insights from innovation economists
Science and Public Policy. 2020. DOI : 10.1093/scipol/scaa028.2019
In response to ‘Six critical questions about smart spezialisation’
European Planning Studies. 2019. DOI : 10.1080/09654313.2019.1664037.On sector-non-neutral innovation policy: towards new design principles
Journal of Evolutionary Economics. 2019. DOI : 10.1007/s00191-018-0599-8.Innovation capacity of the agricultural sector: network of productive interactions, knowledge transfer and differentiation mechanisms
Lausanne, EPFL, 2019. DOI : 10.5075/epfl-thesis-9116.2018
Smart specialization strategies as a case of mission-oriented policy – a case study on the emergence of new policy practices
Industrial and Corporate Change. 2018. DOI : 10.1093/icc/dty030.Smart specialization strategies and industrial modernization in European regions – theory and practice
Cambridge Journal of Economics. 2018. DOI : 10.1093/cje/bey022.Economie de la Connaissance
Paris: La Découverte Repères.2017
Does inventor centrality foster regional innovation? The case of the Swiss medical devices sector
Regional Studies. 2017. DOI : 10.1080/00343404.2017.1329585.Environmental innovation, policy and economic performance
Lausanne, EPFL, 2017. DOI : 10.5075/epfl-thesis-8107.2016
On the policy space of smart specialization strategies
European Planning Studies. 2016. DOI : 10.1080/09654313.2016.1176126.Innovation dynamics in the medical device sector : network of collaborations, knowledge spillovers and regulation
Lausanne, EPFL, 2016. DOI : 10.5075/epfl-thesis-7257.2015
An assessment of the Innovation Union Scoreboard as a tool to analyse national innovation capacities: The case of Switzerland
Research Evaluation. 2015. DOI : 10.1093/reseval/rvu036.Smart Specialisation - Opportunities and Challenges for Regional Innovation Policy
Routledge.Institutions, Innovation and Public Health
Lausanne, EPFL, 2015. DOI : 10.5075/epfl-thesis-6566.Common Innovation (how we create the wealth of nations) in the light of reflections on Mass Flourishing (how grassroots innovation created jobs, challenge, and change)
Research Policy. 2015. DOI : 10.1016/j.respol.2015.04.006.Three essays on the role of proximity in science and innovation
Lausanne, EPFL, 2015. DOI : 10.5075/epfl-thesis-6463.Transition economics meets new structural economics
Journal Of Economic Policy Reform. 2015. DOI : 10.1080/17487870.2015.1018691.From transfer of technology to innovation : the centrality of the discovery process and economic knowledge
2015Should we let the Genie out of the bottle? On the new industrial policy agenda and the example of smart specialisation
Scienze Regionali. 2015.2014
From smart specialisation to smart specialisation policy
European Journal of Innovation Management. 2014. DOI : 10.1108/EJIM-09-2014-0096.Diversity, knowledge transfers and economic outcomes
Lausanne, EPFL, 2014. DOI : 10.5075/epfl-thesis-6005.Product Development Partnerships for Neglected Diseases: Exploring a New Model of Pharmaceutical R&D
Science and Public Policy. 2014.2013
Patent-free Innovation: a review of economic works including the analysis of a recent work in the field of experimental economics
Revue Economique. 2013.Corporate Science and Voluntary Disclosure : Analyzing Determinants and Firm Performance
Lausanne, EPFL, 2013. DOI : 10.5075/epfl-thesis-5934.2012
The fragility of experiential knowledge
Handbook Of Knowledge And Economics; Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012.Why is it so difficult to translate innovation economics into useful and applicable policy prescriptions?
The rate and direction of inventive activity revisited; University of Chicago: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2012. p. 673 - 678.2011
Social Software and Strategy
Long Range Planning. 2011. DOI : 10.1016/j.lrp.2011.08.001.The challenge of innovation in turbulent times
2011Educational innovation: an Economist’s perspective
Rigour and relevance in educational research; Oslo: The Research Council of Norway, 2011. p. 35 - 44.Smart specialisation From academic idea to political instrument, the surprising career of a concept and the difficulties involved in its implementation
2011A la recherche d’une spécialisation intelligente des Régions Européennes
Futuris 2011 - La Recherche et l'Innovation en France; Paris: Odile Jacob, 2011.Knowledge economy and services’industries – a case study of the educational sector
Brain drain or brain gain?; Berlin: Sigma, 2011.Le levier de l’innovation en manque d’incitations
L’Economie, une science qui nous gouverne ?; Paris: Actes Sud / Institut des Hautes Etudes pour la Science et la Technologie, 2011.The knowledge and the rabbit: can we measure what is on the other side of the scales?
Güterabwägung bei der Bewilligung von Tierversuchen – Die Güterabwägung interdisziplinär kritisch beleuchtet; Zürich: Collegium Helveticum, 2011.2010
A primer on patent and innovation
International Management. 2010. DOI : 10.7202/044290ar.The challenge of innovation in turbulent times
2010La Révolution Numérique et ses conséquences
Cahiers Français. 2010.University research and public-private interaction
Handbook of the Economics of Innovation; Elsevier, 2010. p. 275 - 314.Socio-Economic Assessment of Fusion Energy Research, Development, Demonstration and Deployment Programme
Lausanne, EPFL, 2010. DOI : 10.5075/epfl-thesis-4732.Knowledge policy for development
Innovation and development agenda; Paris: OECD Innovation Strategy, 2010.Structural Changes in Industrial R&D in Europe and the US
Science and Public Policy. 2010. DOI : 10.3152/030234210X508606.Le positionnement et les perspectives stratégiques des nanotechnologies en France
2010Avec les armes de la sociologie de l’innovation: critique d’un travail récent d’économie expérimentale sur l’innovation et la propriété intellectuelle
Débordements: Mélanges offerts à Michel Callon; Paris: Presses des Mines, 2010.2009
Science, technology and innovation for economic growth: Linking policy research and practice in 'STIG Systems'
2009. 40th Conference on the Future of Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, Brighton, ENGLAND, Sep 11-13, 2006. p. 681 - 693. DOI : 10.1016/j.respol.2009.01.016.L'économie de la connaissance
Paris: Éditions La Découverte.The New Economics of Technology Policy
Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.ERA: Entrepreneurial Regional Action
public service review: Science & Technology. 2009.Examining how TRIPS implementation affects access to foreign technologies for developing countries
Lausanne, EPFL, 2009. DOI : 10.5075/epfl-thesis-4455.Three essays on university-industry technology transfer and the economics of science
Lausanne, EPFL, 2009. DOI : 10.5075/epfl-thesis-4473.The sources of process innovation in user firms : an exploration of the antecedents and impact of non-R&D innovation and learning-by-doing
Lausanne, EPFL, 2009. DOI : 10.5075/epfl-thesis-4402.Three essays on access to knowledge
Lausanne, EPFL, 2009. DOI : 10.5075/epfl-thesis-4371.2008
Economie de la connaissance
Dictionnaire de l'éducation; Paris: Presses Universitaires France, 2008. p. 187 - 191.Overview on Knowledge for Growth: European issues and policy challenges
Knowledge for Growth. European Issues and Policy Challenges; Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2008. p. 6 - 15.Combining the production and the valorization of academic research: a qualitative investigation of enacted mechanisms
European universities in transition. Issues, models and cases; Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2008. p. 133 - 153.2007
Patents and development in the knowledge economy
ICTSD Selected Issue Briefs. 2007.Academic Licensing: a European Study
2007Enriching the indicator base for the economics of knowledge
Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators in a Changing World. Responding to Policy Needs; OECDpublishing, 2007. p. 87 - 100.Tacit and codified knowledge
Elgar Companion to Neo-Schumpeterian Economics; Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, 2007. p. 235 - 247.Pitfalls in Estimating the Returns to Corporate R&D Using Accounting Data
2007Open software: knowledge openness and cooperation in cyberspace
Internet and digital economics: Principles, methods and applications; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. p. 368 - 390.University-industry knowledge transfer in Switzerland
How universities promote economic growth; Washington: The World Bank, 2007. p. 47 - 70.Linking Policy Research and Practice in 'STIG Systems': Many Obstacles, but Some Ways Forward
2007Building the capacity to experiment in schools: a case study of the Institute of Educational Sciences in the U.S. department of Education
Economics of Innovation and New Technology. 2007. DOI : 10.1080/10438590600982475.Randomized trials of education and medical practices: strengths and limitations
Economics of Innovation and New Technology. 2007. DOI : 10.1080/10438590600982194.2006
Caractériser les projets d'innovation fondés sur la connaissance: une approche sectorielle
Management de projets; Hermes & Lavoisier, 2006.Globalization of R&D: linking better the European economy to 'foreign' sources of knowledge and making EU a more attractive place for R&D investment
2006Une région apprenante dans le tournoi mondial
Le feu au lac; Zurich / Genève: NZZ Libro / Editions du Tricorne, 2006. p. 103 - 135.Linking policy research and practice in 'STIG systems': Many obstacles, but some ways forward
2006The economics of open technology : collective organization and individual claims in 'fabrique lyonnaise' during the old regime
New frontiers in the economics of innovation and new technology; London: Edward Elgar, 2006.Learning from disaster
Applied Evolutionary Economics and the Knowledge-based Economy; Edward and Elgar, 2006.Optimizing the use of knowledge
Advancing knowledge and the knowledge economy; Cambridge: MIT Press, 2006. p. 9 - 16.New frontiers in the economics of innovation and new technology: essays in honour of P. A. David
Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.Advancing knowledge and the knowledge economy
Cambridge: MIT Press.2005
La Suisse dans une économie globalisée de la connaissance
2005The explicit economics of knowledge codification and tacitness
Understanding industrial and corporate change; Oxford University Press, 2005.2004
New models of innovation and the role of information technologies in the knowledge economy
Transforming enterprise: The economic and social implications of information technology; MIT Press, 2004.The economics of knowledge
Cambridge: MIT Press.Les enjeux économiques de l'innovation: bilan du programme CNRS
Revue d'Economie Politique. 2004.L'économie fondée sur les savoirs
Cahiers français. 2004.The patent system and the dynamics of innovation in Europe
Science and Public Policy. 2004. DOI : 10.3152/147154304781779732.2003
On the creation of fundamental knowledge: finding the right balance between the public and private domains
Economics, Law and Intellectual Property; Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003. p. 199 - 221.The development of knowledge in different sectors: a model and some hypotheses
London Review of Education. 2003. DOI : 10.1080/14748460306689.Knowledge production and distribution and the economics of high-tech consortia
Change, Transformation and Development; Physica-Verlag, 2003.Measuring knowledge management
Paris: OECD.On the economics of R&D and technological collaborations
Economics of Innovation and New Technology. 2003. DOI : 10.1080/10438590303118.On the French system of innovation : between institutional inertia and rapid changes
Innovation Policies in Europe and the US: The New Agenda; Aldershot: Ashgate, 2003.Trois modèles d’innovation dans l’économie de la connaissance
Encyclopédie de l’Innovation; Economica, 2003.On the provision of industry specific public goods: revisiting a policy process
Science and Innovation. Rethinking the rationales for funding and governance; London: Edward Elgar, 2003.The economics of knowledge reproduction by inscription
Industrial and Corporate Change. 2003. DOI : 10.1093/icc/12.2.299.2002
The knowledge economy and society
International Social Science Journal. 2002.Economic Fundamentals of the Knowledge Society
2002Ce que l'économiste néglige ou ignore en matière d'analyse de l'innovation
Approches interdisciplinaires de l'innovation; Paris: L'Harmattan, 2002.Intellectual property rights
International Encyclopedia of Business & Management; Thomson Learning, 2002.On the codifiability of knowledge : technical change and the structure of cognitive activities
Economics and information; Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2002. p. 155 - 165.An introduction to economy of the knowledge society
International Social Science Journal. 2002.New and old economics in the economy: a comment on K. Stiroh
Economic policy issues of the new economy; Heidelberg: Springer, 2002.Complex systems and collective adoption
Networks, Alliances and Partnerships in the Innovation Process; Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2002. p. 191 - 198.Innovation et concurrence dans les industries de réseau
Revue Française de Gestion. 2002.Evolutionary economics and the counterfactual threat: on the nature and role of counterfactual history as an empirical tool in economics
Journal of Evolutionary Economics. 2002. DOI : 10.1007/s00191-002-0134-8.The knowledge dilemma and the geography of innovation
Institutions and systems in the geography of innovation; Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2002. p. 35 - 54.Economic Fundamentals of the Knowledge Society
2002Les enjeux économiques de l'innovation: un bilan scientifique du programme CNRS
20022001
Facing the problem of unbalanced development of knowledge across sectors and fields: the case of the knowledge base in primary education
Research Policy. 2001. DOI : 10.1016/S0048-7333(01)00167-6.Public management of positive research externalities
Doing business in the knowledge-based economy; Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001. p. 329 - 348.Economie de la connaissance : le rôle des consortiums de haute technologie dans la production de bien public
Economie et Prévision. 2001.Continuities and ruptures in knowledge management practices
Knowledge management and innovation; Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001. p. 43 - 52.Public dimensions of the knowledge-driven economy
2001L'économie du logiciel libre : organisation coopérative et incitation à l'innovation
Revue Economique. 2001.La complémentarité entre le financement public et le financement privé de la recherche et de l'innovation : pistes pour évaluer les tendances actuelles
2001Public Knowledge, Private Property and the Economics of High-tech Consortia
Economics of Innovation and New Technology. 2001. DOI : 10.1080/10438590210898.Science et économie : quelles régulations?
Les régulations sociales des sciences; Commission nationale suisse pour l'UNESCO, 2001.Knowledge management in the innovation process
Dordrecht: Kluwer.2000
Inertie institutionelle et performance technologique dans la dynamique des systèmes d'innovation
Innovations institutionnelles et territoires; Paris: L'Harmattan, 2000.The explicit economics of knowledge codification and tacitness
Industrial and Corporate Change. 2000. DOI : 10.1093/icc/9.2.211.Technological accidents: Learning from disaster
2000L'économie de la connaissance
Paris: La Découverte Repères.Intellectual property and innovation in the knowledge-based economy
20001999
Innovations et Performances des Firmes
Paris: EHESS.La régulation de la propriété intellectuelle dans les consortiums de recherche : les types de solutions élaborées par les chercheurs
Revue d'Economie Appliquée. 1999.Normes et innovations dans la dynamique technologique
La rupture technologique; Economica, 1999.De la Coordination
Paris: Economica.Science, technology and market
World Social Science Report; UNESCO/Elsevier, 1999.Book Review: Technology and Global Change
Research Policy. 1999. DOI : 10.1016/S0048-7333(99)00017-7.1998
The innovation vs. standardization dilemma : some insights from stochastic interactions models
Evolution and Self-Organization in Economics; Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 1998. p. 147 - 182.The emergence of network organizations in processes of technological choices: a viability approach
The Economics of Network; Springer, 1998. p. 283 - 290.Quand les agents sont-ils décisifs (ou négligeables)?
De la coordination; Economica, 1998.Economie de la codification et de la diffusion de la connaissance
Economie de l'information; La Découverte, 1998.The research network and the new economics of science
The organization of innovative activities in Europe; Cambridge University Press, 1998.Errors and mistakes in technological systems: from potential regret to path-dependent inefficiency
Advances in Self-Organization and Evolutionary Economics; Economica, 1998.The economics of knowledge openness
Trust and Economic Learning; London: Edward Elgar, 1998.Marshallian externalities and the emergence and spatial stability of technological enclaves
Economics of Innovation and New Technology. 1998. DOI : 10.1080/10438599800000018.1997
Codes informationnels, échanges électroniques de données et nouveaux dispositifs de coordination
Les frontières de la firme; Economica, 1997.Generation and distribution of technological knowledge: incentives, norms and institutions
Systems of Innovation: Technologies, Institutions and Organizations; London: Pinter Publishers, 1997. p. 41 - 63.The economics of codification and the diffusion of knowledge
Industrial and Corporate Change. 1997. DOI : 10.1093/icc/6.3.595.The dynamic implications of increasing returns: Technological change and path dependent inefficiency
International Journal of Industrial Organization. 1997. DOI : 10.1016/S0167-7187(97)00009-X.Nouvelle économie de la science ou socio-économie de la recherche scientifique
Revue d'Economie Industrielle. 1997.Une introduction à l'économie fondée sur la connaissance
Économie de la connaissance et organisations; Paris: L'Harmattan, 1997. p. 16 - 38.Book Review: Economics of technology
Economics of Innovation and New Technology. 1997. DOI : 10.1080/10438599700000010.1996
Diversité, sélection et standardisation : les nouveaux modes de gestion du changement technique
Revue d'Economie Industrielle. 1996. DOI : 10.3406/rei.1996.1619.Information structure and coordination in technology policy: a theoretical model and two case studies
Journal of Evolutionary Economics. 1996. DOI : 10.1007/BF01202592.Employment and growth in the knowledge-based economy
Paris: OCDE.Discovery in the context of application
Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 1996. DOI : 10.1016/S0040-1625(96)00097-2.The Changing Economics of Technological Learning
Wealth from Diversity; Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1996. p. 75 - 101.Technology Infrastructure Policy: An international perspective
Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.Repères pour une économie historique du changement technique
Histoire Quantitative de l'Economie Française. 1996.Technology and the environment: an overview
Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 1996. DOI : 10.1016/0040-1625(95)00064-X.The knowledge-based economy: from the economics of knowledge to the learning economy
Unemployment and growth in the knowledge-based economy; OCDE, 1996.1995
Coherence and conflicts between competition, trade and industry policies: the case of telecommunication services
European policies on competition, trade and industry; London: Edward Elgar, 1995.Knowledge distribution and the institutional infrastructure: the role of intellectual property rights
Intellectual property rights and global competition; Berlin: WZB Publication, 1995.Quandaries in the Economics of Dual Technologies and Spillovers from Military to Civilian Research and Development
Research Policy. 1995. DOI : 10.1016/0048-7333(94)00802-7.Des fourmis et des hommes: modèles stochastiques d'interactions et rationalité individuelle active en économie du changement technique
Cahiers d'Economie et Sociologie Rurales. 1995.Accessing and expanding the science and technology knowledge base
STI Review. 1995.Dépendance du sentier et économie de l'innovation: un rapide tour d'horizon
Revue d'Economie Industrielle. 1995.1994
Users, standards and the economics of coalition and committees
Information Economics and Policy. 1994. DOI : 10.1016/0167-6245(94)90005-1.Dynamics of competitive technology diffusion through local network structures
Evolutionary Economics and Chaos Theory; Londres: Pinter, 1994.Coalitions and committees: how users get involved in information technology standardization
Standards, Innovation and Competitiveness; Edward Elgar, 1994.1993
Percolation structures, Markov random fields and the economics of EDI standard diffusion
Global telecommunications strategies and technological changes; North-Holland, 1993.1992
Technologie et Richesse des Nations
Economica.1991
Repères pour une économie des organisations de R&D
Revue d'Economie Politique. 1991.Dynamique économique et nouvelles exigences de l'investigation historique : « learning to love multiple equilibria »
Revue Economique. 1991.1990
L'intégration de la R&D industrielle : nouvelles perspectives d'analyse
Revue Economique. 1990.1985
Innovation majeure et transformation des structures productives : une étude de cas, le procédé de coulée en moule plein en fonderie
Revue Economique. 1985.Research
Research
See the section "current work"
Teaching & PhD
Teaching
Management of Technology