This episode of The Sound of Economics focuses on innovation. There is widespread agreement that innovation is vital for European economy, but how can we get from smart ideas to economic growth?

We asked Reinhilde Veugelers, Senior Fellow at Bruegel, why innovation matters for our economies, and why it is important for the components of the innovation system to be interconnected.

Dominique Guellec, Head of Science and Technological Policy in the Directorate of Science at the OECD, to shared with us his opinion on the main weaknesses in European innovation.

We also spoke with Scott Stern, Professor of Management of Technology at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He outlined why he believes Europe needs to think local if it wants to get the full economic benefit of innovation.

We asked Karen Wilson, another Senior Fellow at Bruegel, why Europe seems to fare badly on this compared to other regions such as the US. She stressed the importance of completing the Single Market to support high-growth firms.

Access to capital is a vital factor for expansion of innovative firms. Karen shared her opinion on what the EU can do on this topic, while Reinhilde discussed why funding for innovative growth should come from capital markets.

SPEAKERS
Reinhilde Veugelers, Senior Fellow, Bruegel
Dominique Guellec, Head of Science and Technological Policy, Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry, OECD
Scott Stern, Professor of Management of Technology, MIT Sloan School of Management
Karen Wilson, Senior Fellow, Bruegel

CREDITS
Presented by Bryn Watkins
Produced by Vanessa Cotterell, Giuseppe Porcaro, Bryn Watkins