From Knowledge to Wealth : Transforming Russian Science and Technology for a Modern Knowledge Economy
Russia possesses a sophisticated science and technology (S&T) infrastructure (research capability, technically trained workforce, and technical research universities) which, even today, is a world leader in many fields. Despite this world class...
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2014
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2003/02/2159874/knowledge-wealth-transforming-russian-science-technology-modern-knowledge-economy http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19155 |
| Summary: | Russia possesses a sophisticated science
and technology (S&T) infrastructure (research
capability, technically trained workforce, and technical
research universities) which, even today, is a world leader
in many fields. Despite this world class basic research
capacity, Russia's exports are primarily raw materials.
At a time when wealth depends to an increasing degree on
knowledge, Russia does not have an effective system for
converting its scientific capacity into wealth.
Russia's S&T resources are isolated
bureaucratically (they are deployed in the rigid
hierarchical system devised in the 1920s to mobilize
resources for rapid state-planned industrial development and
national defense), functionally (there are few links between
the supply of S&T output by research institutes and the
demand for S&T by Russian or foreign enterprises), and
geographically (many assets are located in formerly closed
cities or isolated science/atomic cities). Overcoming these
inefficiencies and adjusting the S&T system to the
demands of a market economy will require a major program of
institutional and sectoral reform. Part I of this paper
describes the ambiguous legacy of the Soviet S&T system
and the status of the Russian S&T sector after 10 years
of transition. Part II describes the evolution of the
Russian system of intellectual property rights protection
from Soviet times to the present and argues that Russia will
never develop a successful commercialization program until
it clarifies the ownership of the large stock of
intellectual property funded with federal budget resources.
Part III outlines a comprehensive 10-point sectoral reform
program to improve the efficiency of government research and
development spending and link the Russian S&T system
with market forces. |
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