Technical innovation has moved to center stage in contemporary debates on economic theory and policy, and Chris Freeman and Luc Soete have played a prominent part in these debates. For this new edition of the Economics of Industrial Innovation, they have rewritten all the existing chapters and added ten new ones that address recent advances in theory and in policymaking.

In the new chapters they deal with the international dimensions of technological change including underdevelopment, technology transfer, international trade, and globalization. They have also strengthened the historical account of the rise of new technologies, a main feature of earlier editions.

They take advantage of their experience on projects for the OECD, the European Union, and industry in other chapters on "The Information Society" and on environmental issues, as well as in the updated discussion of science and technology policy.