Institutions and their Influnence on Science and Technology Development

The purpose of this paper is to introduce and examine institutions that influence science and technology (S&T) development and policy considerations regarfing institutional failures. On this basis, present paper investigates the concept of the institution in economics and innovation studies, and categorizes institutions under physical institutions, including active organizations in STI development (such as universities, firms, government), hard institutions (such as laws, policies and standards) and soft institutions (such as interactions, routines, and norms), and defines institutions as a set of human made constraints and organizations that shape the interactions, behaviors, and performance of different actors in society. In addition, dependency of the institutions, either generally or those influence S&T development, to the economic, political and social context in which they exist is a consideration that have been emphasized. Among other aspects of institutions effects, their impact on the performance of various analytical levels, including firms, industrial sectors and the development, and on the development of STI is examined. Our findings suggest, intellectual property, education, learning and R&D routines, interactions and trust among actors are the key institutions that influence S&T development. Institutional failures that emerge from weaknesses in the functioning of existing institutions or lack of required institutions, and the need for policy interventions on this basis for promoting S&T development are also issues of importance in institutional analysis, which offer a variety of policy implication aimed at policy and decision makers.