Daily Times

Global innovation index (GII) is an annual ranking of countries, parameterised by their capacity and success for innovation. It is published by Cornell University’s Institut Européend ‘Administration des Affaires (INEASD) and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), which is one of the 15 specialised agencies of United Nation.

The WIPO was created in 1967, to encourage creative activity and to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world in partnership with other organisation and institutions. GII is based on both subjective and objective data from several sources, including the International Telecommunication Union — a specialised agency of the UN, the World Bank and World Economic Forum. The GII is commonly used by government officials to compare countries by their level of innovation.

The key findings of GII 2018 comprises of some crucial insights. The ranking listed that becoming optimistic about global innovations and growth makes it possible. The current challenge for the global economy is to reach a comfortable common speed which can be sustained for the next several years. Meanwhile, the global spectrum of investment in science and technology as well as in education and human capital has witnessed important positive shifts over the last three decades. However under-developed countries must harness serious policies for innovation, research and development.

Secondly, the report emphasised on the role of continuous investments in energy innovation for global growth. Compelling projections indicate that by 2040, the world will require upto 30 percent more energy than it needs today. Innovation plays a vital role in meeting the global energy demands. Various energy innovation systems need to collaborate in taking wise steps for energy storage and distribution. Moreover the report found that public policy plays a central role in driving the energy transition.

Interestingly the report also showed that China’s rapid rise is guiding other middle-income economies as well. China’s rise in GII 2018, ranking over the last few years has been striking. Since 2016, China has positioned in the top 25 group, while consistently moving upward, ranking seventeenth this year. It shows some of its greatest improvements in global research, development companies and high-quality publications.

Pakistan remains one of the least innovative countries in the world. GII report 2018, reveals that Pakistan ranked 109, while it ranked 113 in 2017, out of 126 countries. Such a low ranking is largely due to political uncertainty, consistent corruption, which has created a discouraging environment for business and has handicapped our institutions

Furthermore the rankings stated that focusing on translating investments into results is, key. How would a country translate investment in education, qualified researchers and research and development into high quality and innovative outputs? Most economies maintain a linear relationship between input and output; however some economies are prone to under delivering on their investments.

Amongst high-income countries, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Hungary stand out for their high level of productivity and output. Among upper-middle-income countries, China strongly overperforms in the said efficiency relationship, whereas Malaysia slightly underperforms. Among lower-middle economies, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, and Vietnam stand out as performing better than would be expected by their levels of inputs. Among the middle-income group, the top 5 remain steady with China, India, and the Russian Federation at the top, followed by Brazil and Argentina. Mexico and Malaysia are advancing the most in this group.

The report also stressed that regional interconnectivity is crucial for both the preservation and obstruction of economic and human development. Based on performance the most prosperous regions are Northern America, Europe, South East Asia, East Asia and Oceania followed by Northern Africa and Western Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Ranking sixth is Central and Southern Asia and lastly Sub-Saharan Africa.

The best science and technology clusters are in the US, China and Germany. While Brazil, India and Iran all made the top one hundred list.

However, despite some improvements, Pakistan remains one of the least innovative countries in the world. GII report 2018, reveals that Pakistan ranked 109, while it ranked 113 in 2017, out of 126 countries. Such a low ranking is largely due to political uncertainty, consistent corruption, which has created a discouraging environment for business and has handicapped our institutions.

The GII 2018 chart for Pakistan, has shown the average score and rank for institutions, human capital, research, infrastructure, market sophistication, business sophistication, knowledge and technology outputs, and creative outputs.

We hope that in the coming years, Pakistan will continue to improve its ranking through economic perseverance and elimination of terrorism. Moreover political stability and sound leadership will lead us out of this era of darkness.

Researcher of Natural Sciences at Department of Physics, QAU Islamabad

Published in Daily Times, September 6^th 2018.