This article defines the role and importance of innovative models of development for the Russian economy, comparative analysis of two types of economic development in a macroeconomic aspect. Defined features innovative economy and formulate its definition as an economic category, has revealed the role of the national innovation system and innovation infrastructure, as a tool of implementation of innovative activity. The used methods of research: comparative approach, deduction, analysis and synthesis.
Leading world states, such as USA, European countries, Japan, have already transited towards a new innovative development model that is the next step of development after industrial model. Russia has just initiated the forced transition towards innovative development model, as development along the path of supplying raw materials leads to transforming our country into raw materials adjunct of economies of developed countries and inevitable limitation of competition by other countries that have more favourable conditions of processing materials, such as India, China (cheap labour, low energy costs) [1, p. 3].
Active innovative development, outlining prior directions and sectors of innovative development, including modern technologies, will allow Russian economy to achieve competitiveness and establish leadership. The major problem of Russia in this context is lack of demand at our internal market, while a stable demand for Russian innovations from USA and European countries exists.
Nowadays an obvious lag in innovative development is clearly expressed. According to the available statistic data of international economic body Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), GDP expenses for R&D in Russian equaled USD 20,03 million, while this index equaled USD 366,30 million in USA, that exceeds Russian level 16 times [5]. Besides, according to global index of competitiveness, Russian occupied 67th place of all world countries in 2013. The three leading position have been occupied by Switzerland, Singapore, Finland during 2013–2014, besides, Russia ascended 3 positions in 2014 and occupied place 64, Germany is 4th, USA – 5th, Japan – 9th, China occupied 29th place, and India – 60th place [4].
Positive trends are being registered in Russia nowadays: inclusion of our Country into WTO; re-direction of economy development course from raw materials supply towards innovation; orientation of market towards consumers’ priorities, including sector of high technologies; acceleration of technics development rate; creating of new technologies, etc. All these factors form specific features, typical for innovative economy: continuous improvement of technics and technologies, output of highly-technological products and their export to the world market, high level of professionalism, developing knowledge on network and informational technologies, developing sector of new technologies. A specific feature of innovative economy that distinguishes it from the former development model, is represented in prioritizing knowledge in all of its expressions that transform into a new product, enriched with new qualities, and thus lead to creation of market advantage and bring a significantly greater income than common, well-known industrial product can bring, and establishing innovative development and leading positions to an enterprise, region, or country.
Comparing features of the two types of economic development, one can conclude that the existing industrial model of economy and modern innovative type of it have the common platform of economic development – scientific-technical development, but differ in directions of its implementation: broadening of production in the first case, and introduction of new technologies (innovations) in the latter case. At the same time, their common basis, scientific-technical development, creates conditions for innovations to emerge.
Table provides the results of comparing two models of economic development: industrial and innovative.
Сomparative characteristic of industrial and innovative model of economic development
|
Name of characteristic |
Model of economic development |
|
|
Industrial |
Innovative |
|
|
Type of development |
Intensive type of broaden reproduction (intensification, mechanized production) |
Economic development at the foundation of scientific-technological innovations |
|
Objective |
Growth in efficiency due to decrease in costs |
Creation of a competitive innovative product |
|
Criterion |
Results of scientific-technical development |
Introduction of new technologies (innovations) according to achievements of scientific-technical progress |
|
Basic principle |
Growth in volumes of production due to its broaden at the basis of resource-saving |
Qualitative novelty of goods, technologies, services in terms of efficient resource consumption |
|
Moving force |
Scientific knowledge, material production (resources) |
Scientific knowledge (intellect, creativity, uniqueness), qualified labour |
|
Result |
Growth in efficiency due to increase in quality of the used resources |
Provision of competitiveness at the basis of producing and realizing qualitatively new goods, technologies, services |
Final result depends on quality of implementing directing knowledge in innovative economy, while it is defined by efficiency of creating material goods in industrial economy. Industrial economy is based upon increase in efficiency of the facilitated technics, foremost and recourse-saving technologies, and it leads to an increase in efficiency without increase in amount of consumed resources. Innovative model exists in account of introducing novelties and, therefore, entering new markets. Besides, developing innovations in Russia is based upon the existing industrial powers, and concentration of initiators of innovations around them leads to formation of innovatively-developed centers, territories, regions, etc. In this case ideas, intellect, and information in all possible forms should become main resources [3].
According to the provided analysis, we shall formulate the following definition: innovative economy is not an economic category that allows people to create an absolutely new demanded product, technology, or service with new qualities, at the foundation of such resources as knowledge or information via transforming an idea into innovation, and realization of such product can provide a competitive advantage.
Thus, according to our justifications, we can define advantages of innovative development of Russia:
– An ability to achieve significance and competitiveness at the world market through realizing innovations;
– Liquidation of the existing gap in development of technologies between Russia and the developed countries;
– An ability to achieve leadership at new markets;
– Decrease in share of procuring sector products in the country’s GDP with a simultaneous growth in high-technological sector of economy;
– Preservation of the existing branches of economy and development of new ones.
Russia has potential abilities to produce innovations, however, a problem of their realization exists, and solution of it must be provided by institutions of innovative infrastructure with support of the government [2, p. 154].
Choosing innovative path of development requires an active participation and support of the government in aspect of developing complex innovative policy and stimulating demand for innovations. Therefore, formation of infrastructural component is a significant problem, and temper of innovative development of Russian economy depends on how quickly it will be solved.
Formation and functioning of innovative infrastructure implies creation and development of:
– elements of subsystem of general purpose and small business;
– regions via formation of innovatively-active territories, special economic areas, and industrial zones;
– mechanisms and tools of financial support for elements and subsystems of innovative infrastructure;
– normative-regulation base.
We should also outline that formation of innovational system and its infrastructural component should be directed first of all towards developing regions, as necessary resources are concentrated in regions, and the necessary productive base and territories exist there.
Realization of regional innovative policy in regions will require restructuring of regional economy and result in an active innovative development of regions. In this case regions can become leaders in the chain of realizing stages of further development.
Innovative infrastructure in this case serves a tool that helps a state to realize rational distribution of the possessed resources, technologies, developments, and also bring an idea to a complete innovative product and sell it on the market.
References
- Development of innovative component of Russian economy: perspectives and part of economic policy: analytic research according to expert questioning // Interfax-CEA. – 2007. – 33 p.
- Solod T.V. Competitiveness of an economy as a basic goal of innovative modernization // Collection of materials of the Third international scientific-practical online-conference, Moscow, July 27-30th 2011 / Ed. by professor O.N. Melnikov, Moscow, Creative economy, 2001, 496 p, illustrated, Р. 144–145. URL: http://www.creativeconomy.ru/articles/21959/ (application date 24.03.2014).
- Cherkovets V. Special features of the new stage of innovative development of Russia // Economist. – 2008. – № 12. – Р. 38–55.
- The Global Competitiveness Index 2013–2014 rankings. World Economic Forum Available at: http://www.weforum.org/reports/global-competitiveness-report-2013-2014 (accessed 24 March 2014).
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Available at: http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/country-statistical-profile-united-states_20752288-table-usa, http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/country-statistical-profile-russian federation_20752288-table-rus (accessed 20 March 2014).
The work is submitted to the International Scientific Conference «Issues of science and education», Moscow, May, 20-23, 2014, came to the editorial office оn 25.03.2014.