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Christopher Freeman (11 September 1921 – 16 August 2010) was a
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...
, recognised as one of the founders of the post-war school of Innovation Studies. He played a lead role in the development of the neo-Schumpeterian tradition focusing on the crucial role of innovation for economic development and of scientific and technological activities for well-being. Freeman was the founder and first Director, from 1966 to 1982, of
SPRU The Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) is a research centre based at the University of Sussex in Falmer, near Brighton, United Kingdom. Its research focuses on science policy and innovation. SPRU offers MSc courses and PhD research degrees. ...
, the
Science Policy Research Unit The Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) is a research centre based at the University of Sussex in Falmer, near Brighton, United Kingdom. Its research focuses on science policy and innovation. SPRU offers MSc courses and PhD research degrees. ...
of the
University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...
, England, and RM Phillips Professor of Science Policy and later professor emeritus of at the University of Sussex. In 1986, on his formal retirement, he became visiting professor at the
Aalborg University Aalborg University (AAU) is an international public university with campuses in Aalborg, Esbjerg, and Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1974, the university awards bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and PhD degrees in a wide variety of subje ...
in Denmark and professorial fellow at the now
Maastricht University Maastricht University (abbreviated as UM; ) is a public university, public research university in Maastricht, Netherlands. Founded in 1976, it is the second youngest of the thirteen List of universities in the Netherlands, Dutch universities. In ...
in the Netherlands. With various colleagues, Freeman made pioneering contributions to Innovation Studies in a number of respects. As consultant for the OECD, he was responsible for the development of 'The Frascati Manual', the first program designed to collect and standardize the statistics on R&D which resulted in the development of now commonly-used science and technology indicators at OECD. He helped to shape a tradition of research into firm-based innovation during the early 1970s and was a prominent participant in the discussion around the influential Club of Rome's Limits to Growth Report, arguing presciently that the response to
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required a reformulation of the character of economic growth rather than the elimination of economic growth. With colleagues he played a lead role in recognising the historic significance of the development of microelectronic based technologies. This matured into the development of what has come to be called the Techno-Economic Paradigm theory of long waves, building on Kondratieff long wave theory. In collaboration with Carlota Perez (whom he subsequently married), Luc Soete and
Francisco Louçã Francisco Anacleto Louçã (; born 12 November 1956) is a Portuguese economist and politician. Biography He is the second son of António Seixas Louçã, a Portuguese Navy Officer, and his wife Noémia da Rocha Neves Anacleto, lawyer, grandda ...
he made path-breaking contributions to this field. In the early 1990s, together with B.-Å. Lundvall, Freeman developed the concept of National System of Innovation which is widely used to understand the multiple drivers of innovation paths in different countries, regions and sectors. Throughout his career and influenced by
John Desmond Bernal John Desmond Bernal (; 10 May 1901 – 15 September 1971) was an Irish scientist who pioneered the use of X-ray crystallography in molecular biology. He published extensively on the history of science. In addition, Bernal wrote popular boo ...
, his mentor at the
London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
where he studied after demobilisation after World War II, Freeman fused an analysis of the determinants of innovation in contemporary capitalism with an abiding interest in the social shaping and impact of economic growth. As a natural consequence of this, Freeman had a deep commitment to the understanding and promotion of an equitable path of economic growth in the developing world (as seen in the Sussex Manifesto). As a consequence of these significant and wide-ranging contributions, Freeman interacted with and mentored a number of economists and social scientists such as Geoffrey Oldham,
Keith Pavitt Keith Pavitt (January 13, 1937, in London – December 20, 2002, in Lewes, East Sussex) was an English scholar in the field of Science and Technology Policy and Innovation Management. He was professor of Science and Technology Policy at the Scien ...
, Luc Soete, Carlota Perez, B.-Å. Lundvall,
Francisco Louçã Francisco Anacleto Louçã (; born 12 November 1956) is a Portuguese economist and politician. Biography He is the second son of António Seixas Louçã, a Portuguese Navy Officer, and his wife Noémia da Rocha Neves Anacleto, lawyer, grandda ...
, Martin Bell,
Daniele Archibugi Daniele Archibugi (born 17 July 1958 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian economic and political theorist. He works on the economics and policy of innovation and technological change, on the political theory of international relations and on political ...
,
Giovanni Dosi Giovanni Dosi (born 25 August 1953) is Professor of Economics and Director of the Institute of Economics at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa. He is the Co-Director of the task forces “Industrial Policy” and “Intellectual Property� ...
,
Julian Perry Robinson Julian Philip Perry Robinson (11 November 1941 – 22 April 2020) was a British chemist and peace researcher. Early life Born in Jerusalem, Perry Robinson was educated at Canford School, and went to Merton College, Oxford in 1960 to study Chemis ...
and Jan Fagerberg. His intellectual legacy has extended to almost every continent through SPRU graduates, some of whom have applied his thinking to the role of innovation in development in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Programs that have their origins in his work can be traced at leading public policy institutions such as the
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs The Robert and Renée Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, also known as the Belfer Center, is a research center located at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. From 2 ...
at
Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...
, where one of his influential African students Calestous Juma played a leading role.


Awards and honours

Freeman held several honorary doctorates including those from the Universities of
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,
Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
,
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,
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,
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,. He received the 1987 Bernal Prize, the 1988 Schumpeter Prize, and the 1993 Prix International du Futuroscope. In 2007 he was awarded with the Silver Kondratieff Medal by the International N. D. Kondratieff Foundation and the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences (RAEN). The Freeman Centre building in
Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
, former home to CENTRIM and
SPRU The Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) is a research centre based at the University of Sussex in Falmer, near Brighton, United Kingdom. Its research focuses on science policy and innovation. SPRU offers MSc courses and PhD research degrees. ...
, is named after him.


Selected publications

*Developing science, technology and innovation indicators: What we can learn from the past, Research Policy, 2009, vol. 38, issue 4, pages 583-589 (with Luc L. Soete)
doi:10.1016/j.respol.2009.01.018
*''Systems of Innovation: Selected Essays in Evolutionary Economics'', Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, 2008. *''As Time Goes By: From the Industrial Revolutions to the Information Revolution'' (co-author with
Francisco Louçã Francisco Anacleto Louçã (; born 12 November 1956) is a Portuguese economist and politician. Biography He is the second son of António Seixas Louçã, a Portuguese Navy Officer, and his wife Noémia da Rocha Neves Anacleto, lawyer, grandda ...
), Oxford,
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 2002. *''The Economics of Industrial Innovation'', 3rd edn. (co-author with Luc Soete), Pinter, London, 1997. *''Work for All or Mass Unemployment?: Computerised Technical Change in the Twenty-First Century'', (co-author with Luc Soete), Pinter Pub Ltd, 1994. *''The Economics of Hope: Essays on Technical Change, Economic Growth, and the Environment'', Pinter Pub Ltd, 1992. *''Technology Policy and Economic Performance: Lessons from Japan'', Pinter Pub Ltd, 1987. *''Unemployment and Technical Innovation: A Study of Long Waves and Economic Development'', (co-author with John Clark and Luc Soete), Greenwood Press, 1982.


Works on Freeman

*Technology and the Human Prospect: Essays in Honour of Christopher Freeman edited by Roy MacLeod. London: Pinter Pub Ltd (1986) *Mammo Muchie
Christopher Freeman: the founder and doyen of the economics of innovation theory
''Innovation and Development'', Volume 1, Issue 1, 2011, pages 135–150. *Jan Fagerberg, Morten Fosaas, Martin Bell and Ben R. Martin
Christopher Freeman: social science entrepreneur
''Research Policy'', Volume 40, Issue 7, September 2011, Pages 897–916.


References


External links


The Vega Science Trust - Bernal and the Social Function of Science - Science Video

1996 masterclass
by Freeman
The legacy of Chris Freeman : About the Department : SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit : University of Sussex
in the Wayback Machine
Remembering Chris FreemanComplete list of publications
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Christopher Innovation economists English economists 1921 births 2010 deaths Academics of the University of Sussex N. D. Kondratieff Medal laureates