Innovation Economics and Policy Design

How do government policies influence innovation and drive economic growth? Economic insights and empirical evidence reveal the dynamic effects of different policy choices, providing valuable guidance for policymakers aiming to foster sustainable innovation ecosystems and support long-term development.

Featured

Innovation Capabilities Outlook 2026

The 2024 edition of the World Intellectual Property Report highlights the positive impact of innovation and industrial policy on helping to leverage the existing capabilities of a country or region.

Featured

Innovation Capabilities Navigator

Select an economy and access its capabilities across science, technology, entrepreneurship, and production.

Innovation economics and policy designs insights

Find out more about innovation economics through our stories.

All insights

Can clean technologies spread fast enough to fight climate change?

Clean technologies are reshaping the global energy landscape, but uneven adoption is slowing the race against climate change. Solar panels, electric vehicles, and hydrogen each tell a different story about what it takes for technology to truly scale.

Discover Where Your Economy Stands In The Innovation Landscape

WIPO's Innovation Capabilities Navigator is an interactive platform that enables policymakers, researchers, and analysts to explore and analyze the innovation landscape of economies around the world.

An iPhone with a blue case rests on a grey laptop keyboard, showing a home screen at 4:31 with a collection of leading AI chatbot applications, including OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Gemini, Anthropic's Claude, Perplexity AI, xAI's Grok, and Microsoft Copilot. The image highlights the rapid proliferation and mainstream adoption of generative AI assistants on mobile devices.

How Intensively Are New Technologies Used?

Google's Chief Economist, DR. Curto Millet

The AI Era Is Here. But Will It Reach Everyone?

AI is already here. It is already reshaping economies, industries, and jobs. The question is no longer whether it will change the world. The question is whether that change will work for everyone, or just a few.

How can innovation economics support policymaking?

The evolving landscape of innovation demands policies that not only stimulate economic growth but also address the diverse needs and potential of each ecosystem. By understanding key areas—from leveraging unique innovation capabilities to fostering inclusivity, supporting regional and national development, connecting local ecosystems to the global network, and encouraging technological change—policymakers can craft strategies that drive sustainable growth and resilience. A comprehensive understanding of IP rights and institutions further strengthens these efforts, enabling vibrant and adaptive innovation environments.

Understanding innovation capabilities can guide policymakers to leverage each innovation ecosystem's unique potential.

Designing policies that support and encourage innovation inclusivity and diversity can be the engines of economic growth.

Innovation policies can support the economic and social development of countries and regions.

Policies can help vibrant local ecosystems connect to the global innovation network enlarging the potential scope and scale of their innovative activities.

Innovation policies can spur technological change across industries and within their value chains. The current wave of Digitalization can dramatically change the competitiveness of industries and transform the global value chains.

Understanding of the economic effects of IP rights and institutions are crucial to inform national innovation policy design aiming at boosting vibrant innovation ecosystem.