Mario Scerri
My research focus is on the evolution of systems of innovation, primarily within sub-Saharan Africa and across the BRICS economies. I have written a book on the evolution of the South African system of innovation and edited books on various aspects of the systems of innovation of the BRICS economies, as well as on the measurement of innovation.
Subjects: Economics, Finance, Business & Industry
Biography
Mario Scerri is a Senior Research Fellow at IERI and a Professor of Economics in the Faculty of Economics and Finance at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). He was the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Finance at the Tshwane University of Technology from 2004 to 2007 and before that the Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the Technikon North-West (South Africa) from 2001 to 2003. Prior to that, he taught economics at the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa) for seventeen years.His research focus is on the evolution of innovation systems, specifically within sub-Saharan Africa, primarily from a political economy perspective. He has also worked on various aspects of the national systems of innovation of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) economies and on the integration of systems of innovation in sub-Saharan Africa. He has written on the determinants of R&D expenditures in manufacturing industries, on local innovation systems and on the relationship between the state and the national system of innovation in South Africa. He has also written on the teaching of undergraduate economics and of the economics of innovation.
He is the author of The Evolution of the South African System of Innovation since 1916 (UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009) and was the co-editor of the book Measuring Innovation in OECD and non-OECD Countries (South Africa: HSRC Press, 2006). He is also the co-editor of three books on the national systems of innovation in the BRICS (India: Routledge, 2013-2014). He has published articles in the STI Policy Review, Africa Insight, the International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development, the South African Journal of Economics, the South African Journal of International Affairs and the African Development Review. He is the author of chapters in the following books: The Political Economy of Indian Ocean Maritime Africa, (New Delhi: Pentagon Press),The Africana World: From Fragmentation to Unity and Renaissance (South Africa: Africa Institute of South Africa), Local Economies and Global Competitiveness (UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010), Universities in Transition - the Changing Role and Challenges for Academic Institutions (New York: IDRC Publishing & Springer, 2011), The Indian Ocean Rim: Southern Africa and Regional Co-operation., (New York: Routledge-Curzon, 2003) and Putting Africa First: The Making of African Innovation Systems. (Denmark: Aalborg University Press, 2003.
Education
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PhD (Economics), University of the Witwatersrand, 1994
MA (Economics), University of New Orleans, 1978
BA (Hons) (Economics), Royal University of Malta, 1975
Areas of Research / Professional Expertise
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Political Economy, Evolutionary Economics, Systems of Innovation, sub-Saharan Africa, BRICS
Books
Articles
Modes of Innovation and the National Systems of Innovations of the BRICS Economi
Published: Oct 01, 2014 by STI Policy Review, vol. 5 No. 2 pp. 20-42
Authors: Mario Scerri
This paper develops and uses a “modes of innovation” approach to explore the potential of the BRICS to constitute a structural rupture in the current globally dominant neoliberal mode of innovation. The paper first articulates the modes of innovation concept and then proceeds to locate the BRICS systems of innovation within the current globally dominant mode. On this basis it then appraises the possible impact of the BRICS on the evolutionary path of the global system of innovation.
Modes of Innovation and the Prospects for Economic Integration in Africa
Published: Dec 01, 2013 by Africa Insight Vol. 43 No.3 pp. 80-99
Authors: Mario Scerri
This paper develops and applies a concept of modes of innovation to the issue of economic development and the integration of African economies. This concept, which is located in the systems of innovation approach to economic dynamics, is first developed in the context of the development of global capitalism and then applied to the evolution of African systems of innovation.
The Introduction of the Systems of Innovation Approach in Economics Curricula
Published: Mar 01, 2012 by International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development, Vol. 5 No. 1/2: 12-27
Authors: Mario Scerri
In this paper, I examine the possible modes of introducing a systems of innovation approach into economics curricula in the context of current heterodox debates on the relevance of the neoclassical text and the possibilities of the displacement of its hegemony over the teaching of economics. I discuss the nature of this hegemony and the reasons for its establishment and then look at the strategic implications for the introduction of the systems of innovation approach in economics curricula.
Neoclassical Theory and the Teaching of Undergraduate Microeconomics
Published: Dec 01, 2008 by South African Journal of Economics, Vol. 76 No. 4 pp. 749-764
Authors: Mario Scerri
This paper explores possible reasons for the long and enduring dominance of neoclassical theory over the undergraduate microeconomics textbook. It proposes that those very attributes of neoclassical microeconomics that raise serious theoretical misgivings constitute the basis for the current hegemony of the standard undergraduate textbook. It looks at the possibilities of the emergence of alternative textbooks both in the centre and in the periphery of the global academic map.
The Parameters of Science and Technology Policy Formulation in South Africa
Published: Jun 01, 1998 by African Development Review, Vol. 10 No. 1 pp. 73-89
Authors: Mario Scerri
This paper examines the history of S&T policy in South Africa from 1916, when the first national initiative in this field was launched, and ending in 1996 which saw the tabling of the country's first White Paper on S&T. It argues that there is a strong structural continuity from segregation through apartheid and finally to the first democratic government, with a strong commonality in the structural context within which S&T policy has been formulated.
Towards a Science and Technology Policy for South Africa
Published: Mar 01, 1995 by Development Southern Africa, Vol. 12 No. 1, pp.
Authors: Mario Scerri
The history of industrial development in South Africa is marked by lack of a coherent S&T policy. This article explores some considerations that should enter into the formulation of such a policy. It focuses on the definition of goal sets for science and technology policy and on the mechanisms needed to pursue them and examines the roles of various research and development agents and some of the main determinants of R&D activity for their implications for policy instruments.
R & D and the International Competitiveness of South African Manufacturing
Published: Sep 01, 1990 by South African Journal of Economics, Vol. 58 No. 3 pp. 212-228
Authors: Mario Scerri
This paper estimates the effects of R&D on various measures of the competitiveness of the South African manufacturing sector in the global markets.
Research and Development in South African Manufacturing Industries
Published: Jun 01, 1988 by South African Journal of Economics, Vol. 56 No. 2-3 pp. 67-75
Authors: Mario Scerri
This paper examines the determinants of Research and Development (R & D) activity in the South African manufacturing sector. It identifies the various performers of R & D, analyses the relative importance of the performers in different industries, with a special focus on in-house R & D activity of manufacturing enterprises. The estimation results of this study are used to derive some implications for a determination of policy in this area.