Template-type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Nour, Samia Satti Osman Mohamed 
Author-Email: samiasatti@yahoo.com
Author-Workplace-Name:  Faculty of Economic and Social Studies, Khartoum University,
	 and UNU-MERIT/MGSoG
Title: Regional systems of innovation in the Arab region
Abstract: This paper employs both the descriptive and comparative approaches and 
	 uses the definition of systems of innovation used in the literature to 
	 examine the existence, characteristics and implications of the regional 
	 systems of innovation in the Arab region. We examine three hypotheses, 
	 that the regional systems of innovation exist but are characterized by 
	 serious weaknesses in the Arab region compared with other world regions, 
	 that the structure of the economy has a significant effect in the 
	 performance of innovation systems in the Arab region, and that the poor 
	 Arab systems of innovation have serious implications in the Arab region. 
	 We explain two common characteristics of Arab regional systems of 
	 innovation concerning poor subsystems of education, S&T, R&D and ICT 
	 institutions in the Arab region and concentration of R&D activities 
	 within public and universities sectors and small contribution of the 
	 private sector in R&D activities. We find that the major implications 
	 are the poor performance of the Arab region in terms of S&T indicators, 
	 competitiveness indicators, technology achievement index and poor 
	 integration in the knowledge economy index. Therefore, it is essential 
	 for the Arab region to enhance the institutions of higher education, 
	 S&T, R&D and ICT to build the Arab regional systems of innovation and to 
	 achieve economic development in the Arab region.       
Classification-JEL: O10, O11, O30
Keywords: Education, S&T, R&D, Systems of innovation, economic structure, Arab region
Series: UNU-MERIT Working Papers
Creation-Date: 2013
Number: 012
File-URL: http://www.merit.unu.edu/publications/wppdf/2013/wp2013-012.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 275 Kb
Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2013012