In a changing and globalized world, creating new techniques and knowledge is of utmost importance for competitiveness in the market. Currently, the study of the relationship between innovation and development has been booming. Therefore, generating strategies and implementing policies that promote innovative culture has become a priority in nations. The objective of this research is to analyze the levels of innovation in Brazil and Chile, as well as to detect which factors influence innovative productivity, and then to make proposals to help improve these levels. Focusing on Brazil, Chile and the United States, the methodology consisted of a bibliographic analysis, using scientific articles on the subject of innovation. Likewise, a statistical analysis was carried out, considering 1995-2016 as the study period. The World Bank website, RICYT and the CACE research group were used to obtain data. The results obtained were a series of bibliographic findings, parameters, trend graphs and correlations of variables established as determinants in innovation.