Technology-gaps, innovation-diffusion and transformation: an evolutionary interpretation

This paper discusses and outlines a perspective on economic growth based on evolutionary theorizing. Consistent with this perspective, capitalist development is shown to be a process of alternating periods of convergence and divergence, with some signs of a shift towards divergence recently. We also show that the importance of innovation for economic growth has increased lately, while at the same time imitation, (or diffusion) has become more demanding. The manufacturing sector which used to be very important for growth has lost much of its dynamism. We relate these findings to the big technological shifts that have occurred during the last decades. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.