Download 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
100
95
90
85
80
75
70
65
60
55
50
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
13
17
21
25
29
33
37
41
45
49
53
57
61
65
69
73
77
81
85
89
93
97
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