Economics of innovation reached a growing relevance in the last twenty years. The course aims at providing a general framework of the subject under investigation, spanning from more general and theoretical models (such as the major models on technological innovation based on a neo-classical rather than an evolutive approach) to more applied and empirical issues (such as the studies on the relationship between science, technology and knowledge: the role of learning and competences within the firm, the organization and the strategies of the innovative firm; the sectoral patterns and the industrial dynamics; the diffusion of innovations across industries and in a geographical area; the role of public policies; the hypothesis of the nursery cities; the creative cities; technological proximity and networks of firms and institutions; the role of technological clusters).