Those who take interest in the history of innovation have observed that the most important creations are usually spawned by economic crises. For instance, following the shock of the first oil crisis in the early seventies, the Microsoft Corporation was launched, while Apple computers soon followed and was launched after the second oil crisis. The use of mobile phones then quickly spread when the economy was shrinking in the nineties. Before this and that, the food crises, in particular the one that followed the Second World War, drove the search for ways to boost agricultural production – thus resulting in the invention of chemical fertilizers. As the number of the hungry increased and the food supplies became insufficient to feed the world's population, genetically modified crops expanded around the world. In addition, high oil prices motivated research into alternative automobile technologies, which culminated in hybrid cars and other types of electric or solar powered cars. Also, the levels of carbon dioxide pollution boosted the production of bio-fuels from corn and other crops, with the aim of clearing the air of toxins and conserving the environment. While research and development laboratories probably never stop from seeking new technologies, the toughest economic crises are what accelerate innovation and new products that can lift the economy from the bottom of paralysis and stagnation, and that can help prevent future “fatal” crises. It is noteworthy here to mention that crises are not always entirely economic in nature, but that they also include health crises that have economic impacts, such as the spread of deadly epidemics, pandemics, and untreatable diseases. For these reasons, the current economic and financial crisis rescue plans and packages are laying the first building blocks for innovation, seeking to produce goods that conform to modern requirements and that meet the standards for high efficiency. Moreover, as a result of their financial support and aid to financial institutions on one hand, and to the crisis-ridden automobile industry on the other, the governments in the developed countries forced the former to tighten control and reduce credit risks as well as unsafe financial risks. At the same time, these governments requested the automobile industry to restructure their operations and cancel any non-viable sectors that are incompatible with future technologies. Therefore, the auto industry is currently planning to produce clean environment-friendly cars. Consequently, innovation becomes the most important force that will push economies forward and that will help the world enter a new era of progress, overcoming its global economic crisis that has displaced hundreds of millions, and which has exacerbated the hardship and destitution of the poor and the underprivileged. In 2007, the world spent more than one trillion fifty seven billion dollars on research and development. The top ten countries that had spent the most in this sector were: the United States, 362.7 billion, Japan, 142.8, China, 99.9, Germany 70.5, France 43.4, Britain 38, South Korea 35.8, 24.9 Canada, Russia, India, 20.6 and 22.5 billion dollars. It should be mentioned here that the focus of future innovations will be on a range of products that are more practical for consumers and more lucrative for companies. In this vein, it is only natural that information technology would complete its cycle in the infiniteness of cyberspace, moving into the various aspects of ordinary human life as well as the various scientific fields: starting with the use of nanotechnology in medicine, for instance, and in pharmaceuticals, or even astronomy and space travel, not to mention its potential uses in products for everyday use such as clothing. In the July issue of Capital, one hundred future innovations that will save the world from the economic crisis were chosen and showcased. These innovations, while still being tested before being put into service, will soon restore some of the vigour to the economic cycle: For instance, some of the most important innovations are coming from the film industry, such as in the production of three-dimensional films, which seem, judging from the revenues of the first 3D films, to attract the public as well as being hard to be illegally copied, and thus their huge potential for making profits. Also and “in the course of five years, people will have the electric car, smart glass in buildings, clothes that mitigate fatigue and exhaustion, credit cards integrated in cellular phones, genetic cosmetics, as well as artificial hearts”. Meanwhile, and as is the case with these future products, laboratories across the world are going even further and seeking more products and innovations, thus contributing to the recovery of markets and helping them regain their vitality. While it is true that the crisis did not even spare the research laboratories, and that one third of the largest 500 companies in the world have reduced their budgets for research and development in 2009 - according to the McKenzie agency, the Battelle Memorial Institute reports that there are about 10 million engineers and specialists working in laboratories around the world, a number twice as much as that of 1998, while patents increased by 40 percent reaching the number of two million last year. For economists, such a wave of innovations will help thaw the hitherto frozen spending. They also expect the new innovative products to expand into the fields of green technology and clean production, and for this industry sector to grow at the pace of the digital boom, in the near future. Once these innovations restore the dynamism to industrial corporations, the demand for labor will also increase, and with it the purchasing power which will bring the markets back to life. Meanwhile, the developing countries still lag behind in innovations, and thus will not take part of the cycle of progress until a later time.
