Innovative activity is moving, despite the crisis

           According to the "Global Innovation Index - 2013» (GII), published by Cornell University, the business school INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the United States returned to the top five countries in terms of innovation, the United Kingdom has risen to third place, while Switzerland maintained its leading position. Despite the economic crisis, innovation continues to evolve.

           In most countries, spending on research and development activities exceeded those of 2008, and successful local centers are flourishing. The group dynamic of low-and middle-income countries, including China, Costa Rica, India and Senegal, ahead of its partners in the group, but not among the leaders of the GII-2013.

           This year's report sheds more light on the dynamics of innovation local level, which remains undervalued on a global scale. It talks about the appearance of the original innovation ecosystems and the necessity for departing from the generally accepted trend is to try to reproduce the previously implemented successful initiatives. 

           GII-In 2013 an assessment of the situation in the 142 world economies based on 84 indicators, including the quality of basic education in the universities, the availability of Microfinance, deals with venture capital, with consideration not only the innovative potential and measurable results. GII, published annually since 2007, has become the benchmark for policy makers

           The top ten countries - leaders in 2013 1. Switzerland (first place in 2012) 2. Sweden (2) 3. United Kingdom 4. Netherlands (6) 5. United States of America (10) 6. Finland (4) 7. Hong Kong (China) (8) 8. Singapore (3) 9. Denmark (7) 10.

           Ireland (9) Performance of Switzerland and Sweden indicate that both countries occupy a leading position in all components (basic criteria) GII, consistently getting into the top 25 countries with the best performance. United Kingdom shows a well-balanced performance in innovation (ranking fourth in both the cost and the results of innovative activities), despite the relatively low growth of labor productivity.

           The United States, which continues to benefit from its strong educational base (this is especially true of the top universities), have substantially increased the cost of software development and the level of employment in knowledge-intensive industries. The last time the United States entered the top five GlI in 2009, when they won first place.