The Quantitative Analysis of Research Activities - the Case of Romania

Abstract

The European Council in Lisbon set the European Union the strategic goal of becoming the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010. The measures to be implemented by 2010 pursuant to the conclusions of the Council are primarily to serve the goals among which one is more and better networked research and innovation within the framework of a European Research Area. The research and development have the role of a driving force for a competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy. The pursue of the Lisbon Agenda and the increase of the quantum of investments in research is the key factor in the change of the paradigm of present development of Romania; this development should be grounded in research and innovation.

In the paper we analyzed the following statistics: the proportion of expenditures for research activities in the GDP, the proportion of expenditures for education in the GDP, the number of researchers in service/mil. inhabitants, the competitiveness indicator, etc. The proportion of the expenditures for research and development in the GDP, of 0.38 in 2002, places Romania on one of the bottom positions in Europe.

Regarding the financing of research activities, the European Union has set a level of financing of RDI of two thirds private financing and one third public financing. In our country, however, the proportion of private financing is high compared to other candidate states or even member states of the EU (the average in the candidate states was 55% in 1999, while the average for the member states was 44%). In 2002, in Romania, GERD consisted of 48.4% public financing and 7% foreign financing.

Romania has undertaken to achieve an adequate financing of the Research - Development - Innovation system, as well to reach a level of RDI expenditures of about 1% of the GDP by 2007. At the same time, a minimum target of 3% of the GDP is envisaged as total expenditures for the RDI by 2015.

Keywords: research, development and innovation, competitiveness, quantitative analysis, indicators of the knowledge-based economy

JEL Classification: E00, O00, O10, O11, O30, O31, O32, O39, O50, O52