Evaluating the performance of national innovation system: a comparative study between South Korea and Mexico

Marco Rojo, UAM Iztapalapa

Our research advances in this first part, focused on reviewing the way it deals with the evaluation of the technological performance of countries within the framework of National Innovation Systems (NIS´s). In particular, we turn with special intention to the quantitative assessment (data, measurement techniques, methodologies, data sources, etc.). Furthermore, we aim to demonstrate the systemic nature of innovation as a phenomenon that has demanded the attention of specialists, treatment beyond the strictly economic. In this regard, emphasis was placed on reflecting on the need for a systemic analysis that allows us to take into account the different areas (social, political, economic, institutional, historical, etc.) Upon which rests the phenomenon innovation. Thus, the NIS approach was revived, presented the work done for its conceptualization and treatment, stressing mainly the analytical framework for identifying the components and properties, functions and links, and how these, determine the performance of NIS’s of Mexico and South Korea. Treatment was given to the various indicators used by researchers to have an approach on the technological performance of nations, pausing a bit as experienced by the countries of Latin America and Asia, with the aim of our research context and relevance of our comparative study at two representative economies of both regions. Later, it became a special attention to benchmarking as one of the most common techniques in technology, specifically the non-parametric measures such as Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), which allow to develop estimates using mathematical tools linear programming. Among the virtues of DEA, we highlight the flexibility of this technique to omit measurement units that are related to market prices, since under the NIS, many of the inputs and outputs that are used in activities innovative, are hard to categorize with a single unit of measure and prices. Finally, we outlined the upcoming activities of our research, which will help us estimate the efficiency of NIS of Korea and Mexico with own calculations by the DEA. In addition, we expect to find a relationship between the cultural, political and institutional impact on the efficient performance of the NIS of Mexico and South Korea. In this sense, we seek to make the review of previous studies and econometric consulting basis to enable us to find a causal link, but above all, finding an explanation for both phenomena technological aid for this latter purpose, the tools offered to us historical and institutional analysis.

Published: Wednesday, August 31, 2011

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