Economic Crisis Generates Record R&D Figures
Estonia managed to post a record high ratio of research and development expenditures relative to GDP in 2009, mostly thanks to the topsy-turvy economic conditions of the crisis, Statistics Estonia announced.
The R&D expenditures for the year reached an unprecedented 1.42 percent of GDP, despite the fact that they actually decreased.
The statistical flip resulted from the fact that GDP plummeted by 16 percent in 2009 compared to the prior year, while R&D expenditure dipped by only 5 percent, from 208 million euros to 197 million euros. The difference meant that the ratio of money spent on R&D to the nation's GDP rose from 1.29 to 1.42 percent.
By comparison, the 2008 R&D to GDP ratios were 3.73 percent in Finland, 1.43 percent in Ireland, 1.35 percent in Spain and 1.03 percent in Russia. The mean percentage for the EU was 1.90.
Statistics Estonia said that while the non-profit sector spent about 9 million euros less on R&D in 2009 than it had the year prior, expenditures in the business sector remained almost the same. The bureau said that the levels were maintained in part because most of the R&D activity was carried out by 58 enterprises involved in high-tech manufacturing or knowledge intensive services, which were less affected by economic crisis in general.