Preferences, Institutions, and Policy Makers: The Case of the New Institutionalization of Science, Technology, and Innovation Governance in Colombia

Abstract

Abstract Science, technology, and innovation (STI) are fundamental elements for achieving development and sustainable growth. Developing STI is also currently the main challenge faced by countries, especially those with emerging economies, making it essential that these countries implement comprehensive policies to generate a knowledge-based society. Institutions and policy-makers are responsible for defining the rules by which a society is governed. In particular, it is widely held that institutions should place special emphasis on establishing property rights, legal systems, customs, and the political systems based on which central planners should govern. From this perspective, this study integrates qualitative and quantitative analysis through a preference model with three types of STI policy-makers and projections to better clarify the requirements for new STI institutions in Colombia. It does so by using the time series of STI spending generated by the Administrative Department of STI (Colciencias) from 1968 to 2018. The simulation results show that among the chosen agents, the STI policy preferences of the scientist-manager yield economic outcomes closest to the optimal level. In contrast, the yield of the politician’s preferences is suboptimal and even negative at certain points. These results have implications for public policy, as poor policy choices may lead to undesirable results in terms of STI policy application, implementation, and execution. These findings are important for strengthening STI policy. They also indicate the important role of the government in transforming Colombia from being a receiver of technology to being a generator of knowledge, technology, and innovation in line with the requirements of the country’s population and its natural resource endowments.