Market Pull Technology Policy

The distinction between "technology push" and "demand pull" as drivers of innovation was formalized in the 1950s and 1960s. Economist Jacob Schmookler developed the demand-pull hypothesis in his 1966 book Invention and Economic Growth, arguing that anticipated market demand is a key driver of technical change. The government-policy version — setting regulatory standards beyond what current technology can deliver, thereby pulling innovation toward a target — became a prominent tool in environmental and technology policy debates from the 1970s onward.