We must address ‘innovation divide’, says WIPO

A divide between the most developed and developing countries in the world still persists, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has claimed.

In its annual “ Global Innovation Index Report” (GII), released today, August 15, WIPO said concerns about the “innovation divide” needed to be addressed.

Switzerland topped the list of the most innovative countries again, having also topped the list last year. Sweden and the UK made up the rest of the top three.

China, which was in 29th place last year, has climbed to 25th in the latest edition.

According to the report, before the 2009 financial crisis, research and development (R&D) expenditure grew by around 7% annually. However, this has been declining and there was only a 4% rise in 2014.

This is a result of slower growth in emerging economies and tighter R&D budgets in high-income economies, said WIPO.

“Typically the countries that have been repeatedly part of the top 25 of the GII—or those, such as China, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore, that have made continuous and rapid progress, we see a common pattern by which innovation has remained a key priority, supported by a steady flow of R&D spending,” the report said.

It added that Japan, the US, the UK, and Germany stand out in innovation quality.

Soumitra Dutta, dean at the Cornell College of Business and co-editor of the report, said: “Investing in improving innovation quality is essential for closing the innovation divide.

“While institutions create an essential supportive framework for doing so, economies need to focus on reforming education and growing their research capabilities to compete successfully in a rapidly changing globalised world.”