National innovation systems, capabilities and economic development

This paper focuses on the role of capabilities for economic development. In recent years data on different aspects of development have improved a lot. This provides new opportunities for in-depth research on capabilities and their measurement. The analysis, based on a factor analysis on 25 indicators and 115 countries from the 1992-2004 period, identifies four different types of “capabilities”; the development of the “innovation system”, the quality of “governance”, the character of the “political system” and the degree of “openness” of the economy. Innovation systems and governance are shown to be of particular importance for economic development.