NationStates Jolt Archive

Just would like to hear from everyone on their view of European innovation. I remember from personal experience that Finland seemed to be way ahead on the innovation track compared to most nations (at least in the area of cell phone tech), but I'm wondering what the broad based view might be. Are the results of the following survey correct, and if so, does it represent a philosophical difference between Europe as opposed to Japan and the US?

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/bfcf83e6-838d-11da-9017-0000779e2340.html

The European Union’s record on innovation is so poor that it would take more than 50 years to catch up with the US, according to a survey presented by the European Commission on Thursday.

The Innovation Scoreboard compares the performance of the 25 EU countries with the US, Japan and several other nations, and ranks them according to factors such as the number of science and engineering graduates, patents, research and development spending and exports of high-tech products. The survey finds that only four EU countries – Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Germany – can compete with the US and Japan in terms of their innovative abilities.

“The innovation gap between the EU25 and Japan is increasing and the one between EU and US is close to stable,” the report notes. It adds that it would take more than 50 years to close the gap between the average EU performance and the current US level.

Commission officials said the innovation ranking was important because it looked beyond R&D spending to analyse the ability to transform basic research into marketable products – and therefore into jobs and economic growth.

Günter Verheugen, the EU industry commissioner, said: “The Innovation Scoreboard clearly shows that we have to do more for innovation. There is clear evidence that more innovative sectors tend to have higher productivity growth rates.”

The EU’s “disappointing” performance masks striking differences between the 25 member states: the Commission ranks Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Germany as “leading countries” and states including the UK, France and Italy as “average performers”.

does it represent a philosophical difference between Europe as opposed to Japan and the US?

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/bfcf83e6-838d-11da-9017-0000779e2340.html

The report seems more than a little unfair given that the first semiconductors and most of the web standards come from the EU. A lot of fundamental physics research comes from the EU as well - CERN is the world leader.

What the EU tends not to be good at is developing ideas and that is largely because of the different approach to venture capital.

While it may only be a tiny part of the overall picture part of the difference can be explained by the fact tthat European law does not allow quite the same number of patents or rahter things to be patented, which in the midns of big business "stiffles innovation" but in the minds of many others does the opposite...

Well, I can't speak for the entire of Europe, but here in Ireland, every year for the past three years there's been people warning us that not enough science and engineering students in the pipeline to keep up with future demand.
Also, the governments just gave out very cushy tax-relief for R&D which points to the lack of it being a major problem.

So? The larger countries of the EU don't have a problem with the EU? But the ex-communist block and the Iberian penisula (which suffered for many years under the dictatorships of Franco and Salazar, and is all to happy to carry on selling it's beaches to tourists) have a problem with innovation? I'm not sure I see an all too urgent problem. Sure the EU should be helping these countries. But in terms of rest of the economy and state provisions which are behind that of the rest of the EU. Then innovation might naturally increase on its own.

The only worrying absense was Ireland. With respect to how far the Irish tiger has come it should have fair amount of innovation in that respect.

In word word: YES

Half of the US growth is due to its ability to innovate. Now lets imagine the US doesn't inovate: It would grow just as much as Europe.

More than any other, this is the gravest problem concerning European Economy, that must fiercely be tackled. We must invest more in Innovation, and get a high productivity out of that investment.

Its a shame that Brussels hasn't brought itself to stop spending so much money with damn farmers, and spending that money in Technology and Education.

Its a shame that Brussels hasn't brought itself to stop spending so much money with damn farmers, and spending that money in Technology and Education.

CAP is to be abolished in 2013. Why does nobody know this?

CAP is to be abolished in 2013. Why does nobody know this?Um, isn't 2013 just the end of a budget period. CAP could well be extended if France and other more Agrarian countries have their way - again. And besides, 8 years is a 1/4 of the life expectancy in some African countries.

EU25 - does this include the tiny countries like Luxemberg, and recently westernised countries like Poland?

And we're wondering why the EU 'on average' doesn't compare to the world's _large_ powerhouses of western culture?!:rolleyes:

Besides which, not everyone can be top of everything; if you have a performance table, someone's going to be at the middle, top, and bottom of it. The question is really how useful league tables like this are, how important is what they're showing?

Compared to Japan, the US looks like it is in the industrial age still technologically. They > us.

“The innovation gap between the EU25 and Japan is increasing and the one between EU and US is close to stable,”
So, in reality, the US lacks innovation.

Elgesh']EU25 - does this include the tiny countries like Luxemberg, and recently westernised countries like Poland?

And we're wondering why the EU 'on average' doesn't compare to the world's _large_ powerhouses of western culture?!:rolleyes:

Besides which, not everyone can be top of everything; if you have a performance table, someone's going to be at the middle, top, and bottom of it. The question is really how useful league tables like this are, how important is what they're showing?Indeed, it's like being concerned about the low rate of innovation in the state of Wyoming. Poland's time will come.

Perhaps the Eu does have a point. The UK was ranked average for innovation. Yet a UK government report says that the UK is 2nd only to the US in terms of its scientific base and is 1st in terms of per capita. It also goes on to say that UK research is ranked 2nd in the world in 6 out of 9 broad disciplines. Finally it ask 'why, with all this research, is there so little innovation within the UK'.

I'll stop now. I had to research proposal about the UK's lack of innovation and I just remembered a few of my sources.

Indeed, it's like being concerned about the low rate of innovation in the state of Wyoming. Poland's time will come.

Perhaps the Eu does have a point. The UK was ranked average for innovation. Yet a UK government report says that the UK is 2nd only to the US in terms of its scientific base and is 1st in terms of per capita. It also goes on to say that UK research is ranked 2nd in the world in 6 out of 9 broad disciplines. Finally it ask 'why, with all this research, is there so little innovation within the UK'.

I'll stop now. I had to research proposal about the UK's lack of innovation and I just remembered a few of my sources.

Glad I got my point across, ta! :) Interestiing to see how highly the UK was ranked in terms of research etc., I wouldn't have thought we were placed so highly.

On another point, what is the definition of 'innovation' we're using, by the way? Are we talking patents, or what?

perhaps innovation and entrepreneurship are passed on genetically.

when the US was being colonized the most adventurous europeans left to settle it. they became concentrated in the US, and as America became more "civilized" the descendants of these immigrants who had an even greater tendency for thinking outside the box continued to move westward, and so on until california was settled by the most innovative scions.

the west coast seems to be the most innovative part of the nation.

As far as I can see, calculating these figures would be incredibly difficult...

Remeber, there's lies, damn lies, and statistics.

perhaps innovation and entrepreneurship are passed on genetically...snip

That would be no.

_Our_ concept of what is innovative and entrepreneurial are cultural norms, matriceed through context. Nothing to do with genetics whatsoever.

Europe does not lack innovation. They do have fewer machanisms in place to take advantage of innovation.

As a sweeping generality, US society focuses more on the individual, whereas European society is slanted to benefit groups or the whole. (Many examples come to mind.)

Innovation is not usually a committee process. The individual citizen focus in the US is better geared to inventors. They can contribute and cash in, assuming people like their work, in a relatively short period of time. In general, that can't happen in Europe without significantly more red tape.

I think Europe as a whole would benefit more from initiative programs, like Ireland's, and from changes in the educational system that encourage individual expression and award original thinking.

America's flaws are an entirely different thread. :D