Innovation is key to economic development

Innovation

It is impossible to have economic development unless we have new ways or processes. This will help to increase productivity and subsequently income of the workers and profit for the business owners. Innovation not only allows us to work for less number of hours but produce more. In less than 100 years, we have moved from 6 to 5 working days per week. There are companies currently proposing to reduce that even further. The result is that we have more time for leisure activities. Innovation has also made our factories and work environment safer. It has led to better equipment to help diagnose and treat diseases more effectively.

Innovation allows companies and countries to gain a competitive edge over the others, but innovation requires investment of time, money and skills, but gain from such an investment includes profit for companies, employment opportunities and better standard of living for citizens.

 Link to economic development

Economic development happens when we have mastered and improved the current method of production. In many cases, we need to have new products that can be mass produced to entice new consumption.

The car did that, so did the mobile phone and many other products and services.

Innovation also helps to increase the standard of living of many people. If we have new products and people are unable to afford them, the production will eventually stop. Innovation does not have to be completely new products, it could be an improvement to products we have already or even just a better process. Farming was basic and rudimentary at one point, but farmers now use the most sophisticated machinery to increase productivity and Farm yields. The impact of these new products and processes has led to significant improvements in the ways and methods that we farm and even work and live.