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Forum Tahunan Pengembangan Iptek dan Inovasi Nasional V, Tahun 2015
LEARNING, RD INTENSITY AND ECONOMIC PROSPERITY IN LOW RD COUNTRIES LRDCs : ENVISSIONING THE INDONESIAN FUTURE
Erman Aminullah, LIPI-Indonesia
Abstract
This paper is about modes of learning, RD intensity and economic prosperity in low RD countries LRDCs, especially Indonesia. RD intensity for long-term economic growth was analysed
viewed from infrastructure quality and researcher in RD. The results of analysis to the varieties of indicators revealed five points:
first,
simple learning by doing with very low RD intensity is maintained by the LRDCs in Indonesia to produce low end products by using low and medium technology LMT;
second
, high RD intensity was the foundation of entering the global networks of production and innovation for the former developing countries Korea and Taiwan and followed by China, India;
third
, economic prosperity is related to infrastructure quality and intensity of innovation with RD;
fourth
, raising the intensity of innovation with RD require the improvement of infrastructure quality and the increase of
competent researcher in RD; and
fifth
, high economic prosperity with low RD intensity is uneven phenomenon in the world. High economic prosperity coincide with technology dependence society would
create instable and unhealthy economic growth in the long run. Science policy options for industrial technology development to raise RD intensity in Indonesia
are,
first
at
macro
level, the Indonesian government should: i. pushing growth through infrastructure development correspond to innovation with RD investment, ii. driving growth through industrial
innovation with RD correspond to the sufficiency of researcher in industrial RD, iii. implementing the effective policy instruments to raise industrial expenditure on RD correspond to the increase of researcher
in industrial RD, and iv. focusing the limited RD financing on the country potency for industrial technology leader in the future or make some buy some strategy.
Second
, at
micro
level, RD institutions and universities in Indonesia should: i. invest in sophisticated research laboratories infrastructure followed
by recruitting the highly competent researchers, ii. upgrade the quality and quantity of country’s higher
education to produce graduates and post graduates, iii. utilize competitive brain-gain by applying internationally comparative rewards to attract the returning of highly competent researcher from abroad, iv.
implement conducively legal and institutional supports to maintain highly competent researcher in industrial RD, and v. manage new technology mastery by strong support to the priority fields of sciences, where
new materials and life science-based RD for industrial technology development will be important for Indonesian competitiveness in the future.
Key words:
RD intensity, infrastructure quality, economic prosperity, researcher in RD, science policy, industrial technology development .
1. Introduction
1.1 Key problems: RD, innovation and infrastructure
RD intensity is measured by RD expenditure per GDP, its relevance to the development of developing countries is limited in academic discussion. Generally, RD intensity favours toward developed
countries. Besides, some developing countries show impressive economic performance by conducting very few RD or much informal learning Oyeyinka and Rasiah, 2009, hereafter called
as “low RD countries” LRDCs. While, some developed countries conduct formal learning by high RD intensity, but it shown
weak correlation with the RD outcome and economic performance. However, some former developing countries in Asia, such as Korea and Taiwan, and now followed by China and India has rosen to become
the control centres of operation in global production network GPN, especially in information and communication technology ICT, and currently on moving to become the head quarters of global
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Forum Tahunan Pengembangan Iptek dan Inovasi Nasional V, Tahun 2015
innovation networks GIN De Prato, 2013. The rise of some developing countries in global innovation networks was driven by blending between upgrading through learning and substantially increasing in RD
intensity Ernst, 2006.
LRDCs need to raise RD intensity to become the players of GPN and GIN in the future, it is an actual reason. But the important reasons of raising RD intensity for LRDCs are: i. to increase productivity
and competitiveness of leading economic sectors mining, agriculture and industry, ii. to disersify the sectors of economy towards higher value added activities and foster structural change in the economy, iii. to
address the basic needs problems including clean waters, foods availability, electricity supply, health and medicine availability, etc., iv. to increase the absorptive capacity of industry in modifying and adapting the
foreign technology beside to generate new knowledge and technology, v. to increase the level of domestic technological capability in the process of catching up foreign tehnology; vi. to create high quality standard
in higher education in producing highly competent scientist and engineers to work in RD. Ernst, 2006, Bell, 1999; Iizuka, 2011; Cohen, 1990; Hausmann, 2011; Guimon, 2014; World BankIBRD, 2012
The key problems of LRDCs are more than RD and inovation. Global competitiveness index 2014-2015, released by World Economic Forum WEF put infrastructure, innovation and company RD as
the problematic elements in developing countries. For example, the problematic elements of Indonesian competitive index are infrastructure rank: 36, innovation rank: 31 and company RD rank: 24 among
143 economies. It means that infrastructure, innovation and company RD are the critical problems in Indonesia. The Indonesian government has set infrastructure program as one of development priorities in
the next 5 years 2014-2019 to speed up more efficient economic activities to compete in global market in the long run. Indonesia goverment improved institutional framework to tackle institutional weakness
embedded in innovation and RD, that was by upgrading the Ministery of Research and Technology MRT to becoming Ministery of Research and Technology and Higher Education MRTHE.
The development of infrastructures roads, irrigation, ports, dam supported by strengthening the structure of upstream industries iron and cement and deepening the development of downstream industries
manufacturing sectors are critical to drive economic growth. Indonesian infrastructure development successfully drove economic growth before the economic crisis of 2007. The past events of overshooting in
property construction and lack of competitiveness based on RD activity stirred economy growing up followed by crisis. After the 2007 economic crisis, infrastructure development has lacked behind. The
importance of infrastructure development has become the development priority at present, where the sources of financing for infrastructure investment will increase due to increase in the availability of government
savings from the withdrawal of fuel subsidies. Meanwhile the importance of raising RD intensity has been discussing for a long time, but it has not yet come to the implementing agenda in Indonesia.
1.2 Review of literatures
