The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression has generated a fundamental re-evaluation of the free-market policies that have dominated American politics for three decades. State of Innovation brings together critical essays looking at the 'innovation industry' in the context of the current crisis. The book shows how government programs and policies have underpinned technological innovation in the US economy over the last four decades, despite the strength of 'free market' political rhetoric. The contributors provide new insights into where innovations come from and how governments can support a dynamic innovation economy as the US recovers from a profound economic crisis. State of Innovation outlines a 21st century policy paradigm that will foster cutting-edge innovation which remains accountable to the public.

Since the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, American politics has been dominated by the idea that free markets are the most effective way to organize economic activity. Private firms, disciplined by the competitive rigors of the market, are forced to innovate, adapt, and become more efficient in order to outpace rivals, continuously satisfy consumers, and meet new demands. Government, in this view, is the problem: regulation, taxation, and policy interventions disrupt open competition, stifle innovation, and breed inefficiency.But the dirty secret behind the facade of the Washington consensus is that over the last four decades, government programs and policies have quietly become ever more central to the American economy. From basic research to commercialization, the fingerprints of government can be found in virtually every major industrial success story of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century and are central to American innovation and recovery.This volume provides the first comprehensive account of the depth, magnitude, and structure of the U.S. government s role in the innovation economy. A cross-disciplinary group of authors collectively document, theorize, and evaluate the decentralized set of agencies, programs, and policies at the core of the collaborative linkages between public agencies and the private industries at the forefront of the U.S. economy. Equally important, as the United States seeks to recover from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, this volume addresses issues critical to the construction of newly responsible, forward-looking public policies: how can we forge an innovation policy that is at once flexible, effective and efficient, as well as transparent and accountable?"