Modelling Regional Innovation Systems in Low and Middle-Income Countries

Innovation is an important means of economic growth. It is, thus, much needed in low and middle income countries. Although this need was recognised early on, innovation literature is largely based on empirical studies in high-income countries. Theorising based on evidence on high-income countries can provide some insights about factors relevant to low and middle income countries if we assume countries follow similar growth trajectories. Yet, both innovation and growth are much more complex. Innovation occurs through complex interactions between various actors and it is often embedded in social contexts that vary across regions. It is, then, adopted and adapted to local needs and contexts. Agent-based social simulation offers an important potential to capture these complex dynamics. In this chapter, we put together two much-needed reviews: existing literature on innovation systems in low and middle income countries, and existing agent-based models of innovation systems. By juxtaposing our findings in these two reviews, we explore how agent-based models can address some of the major limitations of the information systems approach.