Transcript The Hungarian Innovation System

The Hungarian Innovation
System
Adam Tichy-Racs
CPR Hungary
Transition Period in Hungary
• From politically (ideologically) determined
system to market economy
– 1968 New Economic Mechanism
• transition to „simulated market”
(simulation by centrally regulated prices)
– 1989-90 political transition
– 2004 EU Accession
• Today Hungary is in the market economy together with its pains
Intervention in Innovation
• Innovation is one of the main driving
forces of economic development
• Demand for competition neutrality of
government
• Limitations on intervention in innovation
– The closer to the market
the smaller percentage of public money
Measures to enhance innovation
process
• Strengthening the financial and legal background
of research and development and innovation
– Research and Technology Innovation Fund (2003)
– Act on Research, Development and Technological
Innovation (2004)
• Appointing government stakeholders of innovation
policy
– Science and Technology Policy Council (TTPK)
– Science and Technology Policy Advisory Committee
(4T).
• Strengthening regional innovation
• Exploitation of results
– Further improvement of programme management
– Steps to further improve competitiveness of the economy
Lisbon Strategy
• GERD should be 3% of GDP
– But just one third of it from public sources!
– Hungarian Public part of GERD is about 0.7 %
• Where is the other two third?
– Can state stimulate innovation from private money?
– How can statistics detect private expenditure on innovation?
• Is there another two third?
– Private firms are not interested in producing „innovation
indicators” like expenditure on research and development
– They are interested in wealth creation
if it can be achieved by innovation, they will innovate!
– Are there successful companies with innovative technologies?
If thy exist, they do innovate.
Could Hungary spend more?
What public money is spent for?
• Social expenditure is increasing due to higher life
expectancy in Hungary
• Higher education expenditure is increasing with
increasing level of education
• Health expenditure is increasing with more specific
medical technologies
• National debt, and debt service, is still high
– As a heritage of pre-transition period
– As a consequence of delayed and insufficient reform measures
• National matching fund to EU sources is an extra cost
• Growth of GDP is one of the lowest in the EU
There are no free public resources.
Anyhow, several economic indicators are not that bad!
Demographic structure in 2006
• Decreasing birth rate
• Delay in first birth – longer learning period
• Baby booms and drops
200000
180000
160000
140000
120000
Female
100000
Male
80000
60000
40000
20000
110
105
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95
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65
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55
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45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0
Demographic changes between
2001 and 2007
• Increasing life expectancy
• Less labour force, more retired people
Demographic change between 2001 and 2006
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
-10000 1
-20000
-30000
-40000
-50000
-60000
5
9
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25
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41
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65
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101
State innovation organizations
• The status of the main government
organization is always changing
– Maybe radically today
– Today there is a minister without portfolio
• No apparatus
• No budget
• No clear programme
– The average time between changes is shorter
than the duration of a R&D programme
• Only verbally (ideologically) important (?)
Public R&D institutes
• Hungarian Academy of Sciences with
– 51 research institutes
– 40 academic research groups at other knowledge
intensive institutes
• Bay Zoltan Institutes
– 3 R&D institutes of advanced technologies
– special financial scheme, higher sensitivity for market
demands
• Universities
– thousands of researchers and research topics
– better focusing needed
R&D financing
• Hungarian Scientific Research Fund
– contracting 400 project per year – mostly in basic research
• Health Scientific Council
– supporting some 200 projects per year
• Social Studies of National Focus
– supporting some 50 projects annually
• Environmental Fund Targeted Support
– supporting some 50 projects per year
• Agricultural Development Fund Targeted Support
– supporting some 50 projects per year
• National Labour Fund
– supporting dozens of short term studies every year
• National Office for Space Research
– supporting Hungarian participation in international space research
programmes
Understanding real knowledge flow
• Theoretic innovation models with no
experimental basis
– „The whole begins with an idea”
– „Linear model of innovation”
• Real case studies
– Event logging/mapping
– Financial analysis