Comparative Analysis of Policy-Mixes of Research and Innovation Policies in Central and Eastern European Countries

Abstract

Observing the CEE members of the EU (EU10 countries) from a distance, they certainly used to share major structural similarities given their historical legacies, as well as certain 'unifying' effects of their transition to market economy and democracy. Yet, a closer look reveals important elements of diversity in (a) the structure of their national innovation system, (b) the direction of recent structural changes, (c) innovation performance, and (d) patterns of business-academia collaboration. Given this diversity one would assume that fairly different needs are identified in the EU10 countries, necessitating differentiated, 'tailored' policy responses. Yet, these countries follow the same STI policy rationale, namely the market failure argument, which itself can be seen as a unifying force. Actually, this is not unique to the EU10 countries: the science-push model of innovation is still highly influential in the STI policy circles both at the level of the EC and the member states, despite a rich set of research insights stressing the importance of non-R&D types of knowledge in innovation processes.

International Financial Institutions Ask to Contribute to Climate Protection

“…URL: https://www.afd.fr/en/development-aid-whats-it-all-about (accessed on 21.03.2020). 25 AFD (2015), Agence Française de Développement. URL: https://issuu.com/objectif-developpement/docs/csr_gri_ report_2015_afd_group (accessed on 21.03.2020).…”

“…stages of economic (and thus financial) transition [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] in countries that decades ago still were part of a much more secluded economic sphere [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40], and thus had thrived less, economically and financially, despite their mostly healthy base of human capital. One of the most recent and most comprehensive reports is by UNECE [41]; thus, providing a cutting-edge and neutral set of assessments and recommendations for countries with a similar structure as Russia.…”

When will alpha and omega collide? In search of the theoretical relevance of EU innovation policies

“…Since this is the primary monitoring tool of the EC which is reflective of the EU's innovation policy approach and influencing it at the same time, it is essential to thoroughly analyse it. In a recent research paper, Havas et al (2015) revealed a strong bias towards R&D-based innovations, that is, towards the narrow approach of innovation policies. As they argue, among the 25 indicators: '10 indicators are only relevant for, and a further four mainly capture, R&Dbased innovations; seven could be relevant for both types of innovations; and a mere four focus on non-R&D-based innovations.…”

FDI, human capital and income convergence—Evidence for European regions

“…However, it has also been highlighted that R&D and innovation policies will be a factor of further divergence across the EU, since they reinforce existing agglomerations and growth poles (Gorzelak, 2015). Furthermore, it has been postulated that innovation policies need to reflect country and region specific conditions in CEECs rather than 'best practice' from advanced EU15 countries (Havas et al 2015). This has also implication for the role of FDI in the catch-up process.…”