Phases of STI cycle: Countries comparative analysis

This article focuses on a comparative analysis of the main technological development stages of a country. For the purpose of assessing the S&T potential of countries, a method of creating a scientific and technological balance is proposed. This approach unites the technological efficiency of the national economy with the generation of knowledge and technologies. The study proves that the labour productivity can be used as a fairly representative indicator of the technological level of the economy. With regard to this fact, the authors propose dividing the labour productivity indicator into several components that characterize different phases of the STI cycle, from research work to its implementation in the production process. The proposed innovation (technological) balance equation is used for identification of the strengths and weaknesses of national innovation systems in accordance with such indicators as research payoffs, research productivity, applied effectiveness of scientific activities, etc. The empirical analysis shows that the method of scientific and technological balance can be successfully applied for assessing the impact of the level of development of knowledge-generating institutions and development of technologies for modernization of the national economy. The approach makes it possible to estimate which innovation institution needs prioritizing for improvement.