Introduction: What is innovation in economics in the 21st century?

Innovation in Capitalist Economies is framed as a platform for a broad cross section of contributions on innovations that give rise to critical economic changes through the evolution of societies. The contributions are oriented toward the processes that drive innovations and then economic development in the 21st century on both the public and private sides. They aim at giving insight into meso- and macro-scale factors such as climate policies, creative networks, and supporting governmental initiatives. They also seek to draw the challenges that come to the financial institutions and push them to implement innovative solutions. The chapters reflect on the positive and negative consequences of such changes. The originality of this book lies in the large spectrum of approaches that are offering different analyses and statements around one critical topic – innovation dynamics and related issues – providing an open-minded discussion platform. With this aim, the book is divided into two parts that show a twofold perspective of the discussion: factors of business and policy innovativeness in the 21st century and the impacts of innovations on the way we are organizing our economies.