The network of the Iranian techno-economic system

Abstract

This is a quantitative study of Iranian techno-economic system at the disaggregated industry level. We measure interindustry technology diffusion in the manufacturing sector of Iranian economy in the framework of the Iranian interindustry transaction table and R&D-embodied product flows among the industries. Moreover, we used network analysis to gain a better understanding of the technological network of the manufacturing sector of the economy. Based on several indices that describe the aggregate technological network, we classify Iranian manufacturing sector as a dispersed, hierarchic system. We identified Chemicals and Chemical Products and Rubber and Plastics as the sectors with most powerful contacts in the network, and hence with the highest capability to diffuse technology in the network. We discovered that a large number of sectors in the Iranian innovation network do not diffuse or receive innovation from the other sectors of the economy, and present potential opportunities for widespread diffusion of innovations. © 2010 Elsevier Inc.