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The new geography of global innovation
While the United States and Japan remain leaders in innovation,
increased competition from growth markets, notably China, suggests a
changing landscape. Research and development spending in Asia
surpassed EU levels in 2005, and is likely to overtake US levels in the
next five years, thanks primarily to striking growth in R&D investment
in China.
Measures of R&D intensity, or R&D investment as a share of GDP,
allow for cross-country comparisons of commitment to R&D. R&D
intensity has remained flat across G7 markets during the last decade at
2.1%. In China it has impressively doubled as a share of GDP since
1999, reaching 1.5%, which remains low by international standards.
R&D investment is driven largely by the corporate sector, which
finances more than two-thirds of total R&D spending in many
countries. Companies in a range of industries, from pharmaceuticals to
technology hardware, have exposure to new hubs of global innovation.
Pipeline concerns and the role of human capital
The new geography of global innovation is critically dependent upon
higher education in science and engineering (S&E) fields. Student
interest in S&E is low in G7 countries, suggesting that these markets
are likely to have difficulty replacing an aging cohort of native-born
scientists and engineers. Reliance on foreign-born skilled labor is set to
rise further as the world’s S&E skill base shifts toward Asia, notably
China, where S&E fields represent 40% of all new university degrees
awarded (more than two and a half times US levels).
New geography demands a policy response
Innovation-led productivity growth in the G7 will increasingly require
public policies which attract and retain skilled foreign students and
workers. In the short term, a more flexible and talent-friendly
immigration regime can help developed economies and companies to
benefit from the globalization of S&E skills. Longer-term investments in
R&D and science education can further enable G7 countries to remain
competitive by rebuilding student interest in S&E fields and by
expanding the domestic supply of skilled S&E labor.
Goldman Sachs & Co.