Policies to promote nanotechnology in a semi-peripheral context: the case of the Argentine Sectorial Funds

Abstract

Technological change and the policies necessary to promote it constitute a complex challenge for semiperipheral Latin American countries. In this context, nanotechnology was defined as a strategic technology and its development was driven by public policies seeking to improve the performance of the productive sector. This paper analyzes the trajectory of nanotechnology in Argentina in the period 2003-2015, focusing on the successive reformulations of public policies to promote nanotechnology and the organizational and institutional capabilities of technology management to comply with the explicit goals. To this end, two competing case studies are included, crystallized in two projects belonging to one of the most important policy instruments in the promotion of nanotechnology: the Sectoral Argentine Funds.