Conclusions: A Framework for Innovation Policy

In the previous chapters, we have discussed the future challenges faced by the European welfare states, in particular Sweden. We have also presented the theoretical and empirical foundations for a restructuring of innovation policies in order to handle an uncertain and demanding future. The issue at stake is how well-equipped countries will cope with a novel competitive landscape, characterized by transformations to abate and adapt to climate change, escalating geopolitical tensions paired with an (as it seems) intensified use of state aid and subsidies, new digitized instruments, and the emergence of platform firms. Even though the world seems to have entered a stage of deglobalization, more and more countries have become integrated into the world economy over the last decades. Several of these countries are resolutely and systematically building up their knowledge bases, with a long-term perspective, increasing their innovation capacity and developing their business sectors. These changed circumstances make innovation imperative and warrant new and distinct policy strategies that strengthen the incentives to engage in risky, often experimental, endeavors to deal with these challenges.