The document provides an overview of the state of science, technology, and innovation (STI) in OECD countries, emphasizing that R&D has become less prioritized in government budgets. It highlights trends towards increased public support for business R&D at the expense of public research and discusses the implications of these changes, particularly regarding international cooperation in STI. The conclusions underline the urgency for policy action in light of declining funding for R&D amid global challenges.

1. SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY,
INNOVATION AND
ENTREPRENEURSHIP: A
COMPARATIVE OVERVIEW OF OECD
COUNTRIES
2nd World Conference on Technology, Innovation and
Entrepreneurship
Andy Wyckoff,
Director for Science, Technology and Innovation, OECD
12 May 2017
Istanbul, Turkey

2. Megatrends for Science, Technology and
Innovation

3. Megatrends
&
Technology
Trends
for STI
Urgency of policy
action
Science and
innovation are key
Science, Technology and Innovation today

4. R&D has fallen behind other policy priorities in
many countries
Source: OECD R&D Statistics (RDS) Database, April 2016, www.oecd.org/sti/rds; OECD National Accounts Database.
Government budget appropriations and outlays for R&D, as a % of total government
expenditures, 2000 and 2015

5. Public R&D budgets are likely to plateau
around current ratios…
Government budget appropriations and outlays for R&D, as a % of GDP
Source: OECD R&D Statistics (RDS) Database, April 2016, www.oecd.org/sti/rds.
France
United
Kingdom
Germany
Unites States
Sweden
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013
Chinese
Taipei
EU28
Mexico
Norway
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013
Denmark
Korea
Austria
Finland Iceland
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013

6. … requiring a combination of public and
private efforts...
Source: OECD, Main Science and Technology
Indicators Database, January 2016,
www.oecd.org/sti/msti.htm.
USA
CHN
EU28
JPN
DEU
KOR
FRA
GBR
RUS
BRA
ITA
CAN
AUS
TUR
MEX
ARG
ZAF
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Percentage of GERD financed by industry
OECD average = 2.4%
OECD average = 60.9%
G20 countries
non-G20 OECD countries
Gross domestic expenditures on R&D as a percentage of GDP

7. … and increased government support for
business R&D across countries.
Direct government funding of business R&D and tax incentives for R&D, 2014
Source: OECD, R&D Tax Incentive Indicators, http://oe.cd/rdtax and Main Science and Technology Indicators,
http://oe.cd/msti, March 2017.
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
0.35
0.40
0.45
%
Indirect government support through tax incentives Direct government funding of BERD Data on tax incentive support not available
Indirect government support to business
R&D, 2006 or nearest year, where available

8. Could increasingly generous R&D tax incentives
jeopardize our fundamental research?
Change in R&D tax costs (% annual growth) and the share of public
support going to firms (% point) , 2006-14 or nearest years
available
Source: Based on OECD R&D Tax Incentive
Indicators, www.oecd.org/sti/rd-tax-stats.htm,
July 2016; OECD Main Science and Technology
Indicators, www.oecd.org/sti/msti.htm, June
2016; OECD R&D Statistics (RDS) Database,
April 2016, www.oecd.org/sti/rds.
There is emerging evidence of
more public support going to
firms – and away from public
research - due to more generous
R&D tax incentives
More support
given to firms (and
less to public
research)
More
generous tax
concessions

9. 9
Public research has shifted
towards universities …
Public R&D, OECD, % of GDP
Source: OECD Main Science and Technology Indicators (MSTI) Database, June 2016, www.oecd.org/sti/msti.
Higher
education
Government
Funding by industry, OECD, USD million
2010 PPP
… that are increasingly relying
on private funding

10. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
%
Science, mathematics and computing
Engineering, manufacturing and construction
0
10
20
30
40
%
Science, mathematics and computing
Engineering, manufacturing and construction
Tertiary education has expanded
to support the supply of skills for innovation
Tertiary education graduates
in natural sciences and engineering,
selected G20 economies, 2013
Graduates at doctorate level
in natural sciences and engineering,
selected G20 economies, 2013
Source: OECD, Education Database, April 2016.

11. Megatrends
&
Technology
Trends
for STI
Capacity of
governments to
intervene?
Competing policy priorities
and agendas (financial
resources?)
Shaping future R&D
and innovation policy
agendas?
Opening science
Building international
cooperation
Urgency of policy
action
Science and
innovation are key
Science, Technology and Innovation today

12. Open science is on the march
Number of
papers, 2000-13
Source: Based on Laakso, M. and B.-C. Björk (2012), “Anatomy of open access publishing: A study of longitudinal development and internal
structure”, BMC Medicine, Vol. 10, p. 124, http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/10/124, and website of the Open Access Scholarly Publications
Association (OASPA), http://oaspa.org/growth-of-fully-oa-journals-using-a-cc-by-license/.

13. International knowledge networks are more
diverse
Source: OECD (2015), OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2015: Innovation for Growth and
Society, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/sti_scoreboard-2015-en.
Citation counts, by country of
main affiliation of citing and
cited corresponding author
International citation
network, 1996-2013

14. International net flows of scientific authors, G20 economies, 1999-2013
Source: OECD (2015), OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2015: Innovation for growth and
society, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/sti_scoreboard-2015-en.
International mobility is a major channel for
knowledge circulation…
-15 000
-10 000
-5 000
0
5 000
10 000
15 000
-100
-80
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
60
80
100
1999-2003 2004-08 2009-13 Net flows, full period (right-hand scale)
% Flows

15. Highest expected citation impact of scientific authors by mobility profile
Based on the median Scimago Journal Rank (SJR) score of 2013, mobility patterns over 1996-2013
Source: OECD (2015), OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2015: Innovation for growth and
society, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/sti_scoreboard-2015-en.
… and for research excellence.

16. 16
http://oe.cd/STIOutlook
• Global megatrends and societal challenges highlight the
need for some big solutions and radical changes, including
in our STI policies.
• There is a risk that as countries focus internally, it could
threaten future international cooperation for R&D,
innovation and international mobility – just when we
need it most.
Conclusions and Policy Implications
• There are growing concerns about declining public
funding for R&D and innovation, and the situation could
deteriorate further with austerity and ageing societies.

17. andrew.wyckoff@oecd.org
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