UNCTAD cites Phl for increased R&D spending

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is among those in the developing world that have seen the most increase in spending for research and development (R&D) in recent years, a United Nations (UN) agency said.

“Between 2002 and 2009, most of the increase in R&D spending was in the East Asian and Southeast Asian regions,” the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in its Technology and Innovation Report 2012.

The UNCTAD cited that the Philippines as well as Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Republic of Korea and Singapore saw R&D expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) rise from 1.44 percent in 2002 to 1.76 percent in 2007.

In 2009, R&D spending went up further to 1.83 percent.

This compares to Latin America and the Caribbean which saw R&D spending as a percentage of GDP increase from 0.59 percent in 2002 to 0.60 percent in 2007 and to a further 0.66 percent in 2009.

Sub-Saharan Africa excluding South Africa, meanwhile, saw its R&D expenditure decline from 0.30 percent in 2002 to 0.28 percent in 2007, and then go up slightly to 0.29 percent in 2009.

The UNCTAD noted though that the rising R&D does not equate with or explain activities relating to technological development.

“Rather, R&D expenditure is merely an indication of the broader trends in productive investment, most importantly in infrastructure and human resource development,” it said.

In the same report, the UNCTAD said developing countries are encouraged to strengthen their cooperation with a particular focus on collaboration for technology and innovation in order to promote industrialization and inclusive growth across the developing world.

To facilitate technological collaboration, the UNCTAD suggests the coordination of local and regional innovation policies.

This can be done by granting incentives to local firms in return for entering joint ventures with firms from developing countries on acquiring technologies, as well as offering tax perks to foreign firms in exchange for setting up production facilities or transferring know-how to local firms, among others.

The UNCTAD likewise recommends coming up with policies with clear targets to be achieved in terms of technological collaboration.

The pooling of technological resources by developing countries through a South-South Innovation and Technology pact was also proposed, which could serve as a mechanism to coordinate and promote developing-country response to technology-related issues.