Investigating the interaction and mutual dependence between science and technology

Literature on the economics of science and technology (S&T) suggests not only that technological innovation demands the expansion of the institutional borders between universities, research institutes, industrial companies and the financial system, but also that science leads as well as follows technology. Medical innovation in particular is very dependent on scientific research, which represents a source of information that impels the productive sector. The latter introduces a series of questions that motivate the researchers in their attempt to understand how the human body reacts to certain products and therapies. This paper analyses the pattern of S&T interaction for both the national system of innovation (NSI) and the health innovation system. The panel data and simultaneous equations models analyze the interaction between S&T. The theory about the existence of a mutual dependence between them has been confirmed, which means that science moves technology and technology also influences scientific development. The estimated models, which use data from scientific papers and patents as proxies of science and technology, represent just the tip of the iceberg called NSI, known as a multifaceted and complex institutional arrangement.