On November 16, the TMCD organised the Panel "Innovation and Industrialisation in Low Income Countries" at the DSA Annual Conference 2013. The Conference was co-hosted by the University of Birmingham’s International Development Department.

In developed countries innovation is often associated with patents and with research and development (R&D) departments. Would this view of the world imply that in low-income countries (LICs), where skills and capital constrains are prevalent, firms are hardly innovative? The contributions of the panel provided a different picture of innovation in low-income countries.

The panel included three presentations:

• Capacities for Inclusive Innovation: Reflections on Organisational and Institutional Mechanisms for Strengthening Scientific and Technological Capabilities (Joanna Chataway, RAND Europe and Open University)
• Innovation under the Radar in Low-Income Countries: Evidence from Ghana (Giacomo Zanello, University of Oxford)
• Does Quality Matter for Innovations in Low-Income Markets? The Case of the Kenyan Mobile Phone Sector (Christopher Foster, University of Manchester)

The presentations will be available in the DSA website.