The Economics of Frugal Innovation

In light of the tremendous growth of frugal product and process innovations in both emerging markets and economies in the Global North, this book offers a clear understanding of this new direction of technological change within a Schumpeterian analytical framework. Characterising frugal innovation as a new technological paradigm, it illuminates the relationship between frugality and sustainability.

Using important case studies from around the globe, Christian Le Bas explores the key characteristics of frugal innovations: products with fewer artefacts, decreasing technological complexity and design simplification. Chapters systematically synthesise economic knowledge on the topic, mapping the environmentally positive consequences of frugal innovation and identifying the crucial socio-economic and ecological contemporary issues that frugal innovation can help resolve.



Concise and timely, this book will be a useful resource for economics and management scholars and students. The tools for understanding the nature and scope of frugal innovation, as well as insights on sustainable innovation, also make this an important read for managers, decision-makers and stakeholders.