The innovation gap between the new members of the European Union and the average level of EU innovation

Abstract

In the modern world innovation is considered as one of the most important factors determining the rate of economic growth and the level of economic prosperity. The factors determining its development are today research and development activity (R&D), innovative activity and human capital.

The aim of the paper is to assess the results of analysis aimed at estimating an innovation gap between new members of the European Union (Countries that joined the European Union in 2004 and later ) and the average level of innovation of the EU in the years 2004–2022. The paper is an introduction to further research including an analysis of the innovative capacity and innovative position of the surveyed countries, as well as an analysis of their innovative effectiveness with more in-depth exploration of the reasons for the convergence/divergence in innovation performance. The paper formulates the research thesis that assumes that the new member states of the EU did not catch up with an innovation gap in relation to the EU average in the years 2004–2022. The results of the analysis confirm this thesis for all countries except Estonia and Cyprus. The comparison is based on the Summary Innovation Index (SII), which was developed by the European Commission within the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS). The paper reviewed the literature on the innovation gap. Descriptive analysis, statistical data analysis and comparative analysis methods were applied along with statistical data from the European Innovation Scoreboard in the period 2004–20022.