R&D Investments in Slovenia
R&D Investments in Slovenia

Summary/Abstract: The study analyzes the potential impact of implementation of the Lisbon strategy on Slovenian economic performance. The focus of our work is the recommenda-tion of the strategy that the EU members should invest three per cent of their GDP in research and development (R&D). We analyze this recommendation using comparative descriptive analysis and a simulation of research output with neural networks. On the example of Slovenia we show that Lisbon targets, espe-cially the goal of investing 3 per cent of GDP in R&D, are not necessarily a part of an efficient economic policy. There is no necessary connection between increases in R&D spending and economic efficiency. Investments in R&D are strongly related to interactions between the research sector and businesses and depend on the structure of both sectors. Decisions about investing in applied R&D should be left to market players while economic policy makers should do their best to support R&D activities through structural reforms. This policy prescription applies primarily for transition countries.

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