Methods for measuring ICT and innovation in the case of Republic Macedonia

Abstract

This paper investigates the SII (Summary Innovation Index), GCI (Global Competitiveness Index), ICI (Innovation Capacity Index), GII (Global Innovation Index) and NRI (Networked Readiness Index) index as a tools about ICT and national innovation capacities in the case of the Republic of Macedonia and given countries. The concept of ICT and innovation and the methods for measuring it have been under constant dispute for decades. Without doubt, the measurement of ICT and innovation and theirs dynamics is of great importance for theoretical and empirical analysis of growth models, and to support the decision-making process of potential investors. Composite indicators are widely used to compare a variety of countries with different backgrounds and levels of development, but these indicators do not tell us much about the country-specific ICT and innovation environment. At the same time, there is a separate branch of literature, which analyses ICT and national innovation systems, characterizing only a specific country and discussing factors that may impact ICT and innovation performance in the country in question. In this paper we try to bridge these two approaches. First, we conduct a comparative analysis of the ICT and innovation performance of the countries using composite indicators, and second, we analyze factors that may explain the differences in ICT and innovation performance between the countries.