Backwardness, catching up and innovation in the extra-European OECD countries.

The article makes an international comparison of R & D and innovation performance in so-called developing countries: an increasingly heterogeneous set. Their best R & D performers are catching up with the top players in the world, but the majority have none too transparent national innovation systems, with only limited impacts on macroeconomic performance. The study concludes that an overall strong, mutual linkage exists between level of economic development on the one hand, and R & D and innovation performance on the other. Thus the increase in R & D spending seems important for improving conditions in this sector, and in the longer term, accelerating economic development.