The Social Shaping of Technological Revolutions is a research project led by Carlota Perez, as a continuation of the work done for her 2002 book Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital: the Dynamics of Bubbles and Golden Ages (Edward Elgar). Her research explores the relationship between technology and economic development, between finance and technological diffusion and between technical and institutional change. Where the previous book focused on the role of finance and markets in the disruptive process of installing a new technological paradigm before a financial crash, this timely project aims to analyse the role of state and society in promoting and propagating innovation to generate inclusive economic growth following a crisis.

As with all her research, the analysis of history is carried out with the aim of identifying patterns that will help policymakers to understand the present moment and identify potential paths of action, leading from the current crisis situation to a ‘golden age’ – one that involves mutually beneficial directions for advanced, emerging and developing countries and a global positive-sum game for business and society.