Problemy innowacyjności polskiej gospodarki w świetle Strategii Lizbońskiej na tle wybranych krajów Unii Europejskiej

Abstract

In the contemporary global economy, innovations are the motor of growth, competitiveness, productivity and employment. Being aware of the importance of innovations in economy and trying to improve the European economic efficiency, and also to diminish distance to the USA, countries of the EU worked out the agenda that aims at acceleration of the innovative progress and creation of the knowledge-based economy, which is the core of the Lisbon Strategy. The paper offers a tentative diagnosis of the range of innovativeness in the countries of the “old fifteen” of the EU as well as in Poland when referred to them. The survey in the level of innovativeness in particular countries is difficult and still imperfect in comparison to such economic factors as production, investment, trade or employment. To define the level of the innovative activity one can apply two methods, that is, so to say, an objective one, which includes mensuration of the number and character of the innovations that really exist, and the so called subjective method, which involves the analysis of the innovative activity of the enterprises, its directions and prospects, barriers and results. When examining the level of innovativeness in the countries of the EU and ten countries pretending to membership in 2004, The European Commission used 18 partial indicators characterizing different aspects of innovativeness. They include, among others, the height of expenses for research and development (R+D) in relation to GDP, the employment in R+D in relation to total employment, a share of the graduate in the age group of 25–64, activity in creation of knowledge and technical progress, commonness of utilization of the European ITC technology by the enterprises of the EU, popularity of Internet and mobile phones in society, and value of direct foreign investment per capita. The present research shows a serious differentiation between the range of innovations in the countries of “the old fifteen” and points to a great distance that separates Poland from the leading innovative countries of the UE, like Sweden, UK and Denmark, but also from the average European standard in the areas of innovativeness under discussion, except for a share of the graduate in the general number of people aged 25–64. In Poland, the essential changes must be introduced in the expenses on R+D, innovations, and on increasing the number of the qualified scientists and academics so that the knowledgebased economy could arise. Moreover, what is necessary is also doing one’s best to improve the efficiency of the conducted research and growth – oriented projects which are inculcated to industry.