Greece is deemed a laggard in research and development
Greece’s spending on research and development (R&D) recorded an historic high in 2015 but remains relatively low compared to other developed countries. Data published on Wednesday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) ranked Greece 32nd among 38 of its member-states.
This was determined by the OECD’s R&D intensity index, which measures expenditure on research and development as a percentage of each country’s gross domestic product. In Greece that did not even make 1 percent (reaching 0.96 percent) of GDP in 2015, amounting to just over 1.68 billion euros.
That compares with 1.49 billion euros spent in 2014 (0.84 percent of GDP) and 1.39 billion in 2011 (0.67 percent). In 2015 the average rate in the European Union stood at 2 percent of GDP.
In the current lean period, that failure to put enough money into R&D has more evident consequences, as it constitutes one of the decisive parameters of the Greek recession and the non-creation of jobs. Furthermore, the insufficient investment in R&D by state entities and the private sector aggravates the brain drain as potential employees in the research sector seek work with institutions and enterprises abroad.
