Global Innovation Index 2013

• Author: Catherine Jewell - Sacha Wunsch-Vincent
• Position: WIPO Communications Division - Economics and Statistics Division, WIPO
• Pages: 11-13

p. 11WIPO | MAGAZINE

GLOBAL

I N NOVAT ION

I N DEX 2013 By Catherine Jewell,

WIPO Communications Division and

Sacha Wunsch-Vincent, Economi cs

and Statistics Division, WIPO

Amid ongoing global economic uncertainty, policymakers are

focusing on innovation as a means of stimu lating growth, gener-

ating employment and enhancing competitiveness. Measuring

the innovation capabilities and performance of countries around

the world is essential for pol icymakers to evaluate progress and

identify priori ties. The Global Innovation Index (GII), now in its

sixth year, has become a leading refere nce for benchmarking

the innovation performa nce of countries around the world. It

offers detailed metr ics and a practical guide for policyma kers to

more easily identif y what needs to be done to foster innovation

and improve a country’s innovation perfor mance. In addition

to ranking the innovation capabili ties and outputs of countries,

the GII seeks to deepen unde rstanding of the dynamics of the

multi-faceted process of innovation. This ye ar it focuses on the

local dynamics of inn ovation, reecting the importance of in-

novation hubs, such as Silicon Valley in the Un ited States and

Daedok Innopolis in the Rep ublic of Korea (ROK), in fostering

a virtuous cycle of innovation, grow th and employment. GII

2013 offers some interesting insights into the evolving global

innovation landscape. We explore its main ndings.

Amid slow and uneven global e conomic recovery, the GII

underlines the impor tance of innovation as a foundation for

future growth. “Innovation is a major c ontributor to economic

growth and the major component of economic success in a

global economy in whic h knowledge and intangible s are in-

creasingly a compone nt of production and distribution. It is the

source of competitive advantage for enterprises, industries and

companies and, as such, increasingly the basis of competition

between them,” said WIPO Director Gene ral Francis Gurry at

the launch of GII 2013. “Innovation is also the major source of

improvements in the quality of ou r material life,” he said pointing

to its potential in improving health outcome s, ensuring food

security and overcomi ng the threat of climate change.

GII 2013 was launched at the High-Level Segment of the

United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on

July 1, 2013 which focused in pa rticular on the role of science,

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technology and innovation and the p otential of culture in

achieving the Millennium Development Goals and promoting

sustainable development

R&D SPENDING O N THE RISE

GII 2013 shows that innovation is “alive and well”. Despite the

ongoing global economic challenges, the overall picture for

innovation is positive with resea rch and development (R&D)

spending exceeding 200 8 levels in most countries. “At no

other point in history has so muc h money been spent on

R&D worldwide,” the report notes. After a steep dec line in

2009, “countries and rms have resum ed investing in R&D

and innovation,” said Soumitra Dutta, co-e ditor of the Report

and Anne and Elmer Lind seth Dean, Samuel Curtis Joh nson

Graduate School of Managem ent, Cornell University. Gross

R&D expenditures in many develo ped and emerging econo-

mies show a positive upward trend with c ountries like China,

India, Indonesia and Malaysia enjoying double-digit growth.

Emerging markets, in general, have inc reased R&D spending

faster than high-income countries.

RANKINGS

For the second consecutive yea r, Switzerland and Sweden,

topped the GII’s rankings, demonstrating high l evels of perfor-

mance across all indicator s, followed by the United Kingdom,

the Netherlands and the Un ited States. “The top 25 ranked

countries on the GII are a mix of nations f rom across the world

– North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania and the Middle East,”

said Professor Dutta, un derlining the changing geo graphy of

innovation and its global nature. “Never b efore has innovation

been so well distributed am ong countries,” he said.

While high-income countries dominate the top 25 rankings, the

good news is that various new player s, such as China, Costa

Rica, India and Seneg al are rapidly outpacing their pe ers.