INTERNATIONALIZATION OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE 21ST CENTURY: INTERNATIONAL STATISTICS AND KEY TRENDS

The objective of the study was to assess, on the base of diverse statistical data, whether there was a sustainable strengthening of international cooperation in research and development (R&D) in the first two decades of the 21st century; and to identify the main competitors of the countries leading in the scientific and technological (S&T) development. For this purpose, the dynamics of foreign R&D nancing, foreign patenting of residents and the volumes of international charges for the use of intellectual property (IP) were analyzed for the leading and some of developing countries. It was found that in 2000-2020, there was an increase in interrelations in the R&D cooperation between the countries. The dynamics of payments and receipts from the use of IP showed the weakening of the world leaders’ monopoly in R&D due to the gradual diffusion of not only high-tech production, but of R&D for them as well. Stagnation or decline in foreign R&D funding, recorded in most of the countries, may indicate not only nancial difficulties, but also a desire to develop advanced technologies domestically. Traditional leaders in scienti c and technological development are beginning to be challenged by competitors from both developed (Ireland, the Netherlands) and developing countries (China). And meanwhile developed countries compete primarily in the sphere of production and individual high-tech industries, China is capable of not only be present in many industry markets, but also to carry out its own developments.