RESEARCH ON THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG INVESTMENTS IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION AND SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to correlate socioeconomic development indicators from a sample of fourteen countries, including Brazil, and the performance indicators in Science, Technology and Innovation CT&I. Statistical techniques of correlation between Science, Technology and Innovation indicators published by International Reference Institutions were used and the results showed high correlations between gross investments in ST&I and the Gross Domestic Product - GDP, as well as the position in scientific production (R2= 0.85 in both analyzes). The correlation between investments in CT&I and the competitiveness ranking was low; however, the innovation ranking showed a median correlation (R2 = 0.61) when related to the percentages of GDP invested in CT&I. The correlations between the innovation and competitiveness rankings with the HDI were also median (R2 = 0.61 and R2 = 0.56, respectively). The ST&I indicators were not correlated with GDP growth rates and unemployment rates. The study is limited to a sample of fourteen countries, chosen due to similarities with Brazil, but it can help in directing public policies for generating knowledge through investments in science, technology and innovation. The study is particularly important due to the indication that investments in knowledge generation (science, technology and innovation) do not necessarily decrease unemployment, but improve the HDI - Human Development Index.