This area has its focus on the investigation of the sources, the institutions, the procedures, and the economic effects of innovation and technical change. Frequently adopting an historical perspective, the faculty members of this area try to understand how the economies change and evolve over time, how industrialization occurs and affects societies, which are the determinants of long-run growth.

Major Publications

1. Domini, G., Grazzi, M., Moschella, D., & Treibich, T. (2021). “Threats and opportunities in the digital era: automation spikes and employment dynamics”. Research Policy, 50(7), 104137.
2. Martinelli A., A. Mina, M. Moggi (2021), 2The enabling technologies of Industry 4.0: Examining the seeds of the Fourth Industrial Revolution”, Industrial and Corporate Change, 30(1): 161–188, https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/dtaa060
3. Nuvolari, A., Tartari, V. and Tranchero, M. (2021), “Patterns of Innovation during the Industrial Revolution: a Reappraisal using a Composite Indicator of Patent Quality”, Explorations in Economic History, vol. 82, 101419
4. Bekkers R., A. Martinelli and F. Tamagni (2020), "The impact of including standards-related documentation in patent prior art: evidence from an EPO policy change", Research Policy, 49(7).
5. Dosi, G., M.E. Virgillito (2019): “Whither the evolution of the contemporary social fabric? New technologies and old socio-economic trends”, International Labour Review, https://doi.org/10.1111/ilr.12145
6. Martinelli A. (2012), “An emerging paradigm or just another trajectory? Understanding the nature of technological changes using engineering heuristics in the telecommunications switching industry”, Research Policy, Volume nr. : 41  Issue nr. : 1
7. Arora A, Gambardella A, Magazzini L, Pammolli F (2009); “A Breath of Fresh Air? Firm Types, Scale, Scope and Selection Effects in Drug Development”, Management Science, 55(10), 1638-1653.
8. Nuvolari, A. (2004), “Collective Invention during the British Industrial Revolution: the Case of the Cornish Pumping Engine”, Cambridge Journal of Economics, vol. 28, pp. 347-363.
9. Dosi G. (1988), “Sources, Procedures and Microeconomic Effects of Innovation”, Journal of Economic Literature, Volume nr.: XXVI Issue nr.: 1
10. Dosi G., (1982), “Technological Paradigms and Technological Trajectories. A Suggested Interpretation of the Determinants and Directions of Technical Change”, Research Policy, Volume nr.: 11:3 Issue nr.: 1