It has been argued that the power of the concept of a ‘National Innovation System’ (NIS) lies in its comparative nature. Adopting this viewpoint, we provide a comparative snapshot of New Zealand’s NIS. Using macro-level indicators to measure innovation, knowledge absorption and diffusion, we compare the performance of New Zealand with that of other OECD economies. The data indicate that New Zealand continues to have a weak NIS, despite major changes to its research, science and technology sector since the late 1980s, and despite its openness to foreign direct investment. We conclude with some general policy considerations to remedy what, by international comparison, still seems to be a NIS failure in New Zealand. The paper also suggests directions for further research.

PAGES
283 – 298
DOI
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Issues
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Agnes Horvath, Magic and the Will to Science: A Political Anthropology of Liminal Technicality
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Gibson Burrell, Ronald Hartz, David Harvie, Geoff Lightfoot, Simon Lilley and Friends, Shaping for Mediocrity: The Cancellation of Critical Thinking at our Universities
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Bas de Boer, How Scientific Instruments Speak: Postphenomenology and Technological Mediations in Neuroscientific Practice
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Bjørn Lomborg, False Alarm
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How does innovation arise in the bicycle sector? The users’ role and their betrayal in the case of the ‘gravel bike’
A Comparative Macro-level Assessment of New Zealand’s ‘National Innovation System’
PAPERS