Файл: Na_puti_k_dolgosrochnoy_strategii_stran_BRIKS_angl.pdf

BRICS Long-Term Strategy

154 

|

very low productivity and little innovation” (OECD, 2011b: 12). This is also true 

for other BRICS countries. Even FDI helps increase the concentration of resources. 

In China 60 per cent of foreign R&D laboratories are located in Beijing, 18 per 

cent in Shanghai, and 6 per cent in Shenzhen (Fan, 2014). STI policies such as 

those described throughout this report tend to emphasise high technology (“high 

technology myopia”), the research institutes and firms with more capabilities. 

These policies have a sound rationale, as they aim to enable national STI actors to 

compete at the forefront of technology.

But there are three drawbacks to these kinds of policies. The first is the regional 

aspect. Inequalities among regions of each BRICS country might be even greater 

than those observed between BRICS and Triadic nations. The report mentioned 

successful special economic zones initiatives, which helped less developed regions, 

but more needs to be done in this respect.

Second, there are also structural heterogeneities within and between sectors. 

Large firms tend to be much more productive than smaller ones. As they usually 

benefit more than smaller ones from STI policies, this gap tends to increase.  

A similar phenomenon occurs with regard to manufacturing versus services. Most 

of the policies focus on industrial firms, which are more productive, while there is a 

clear tendency of a growing share of value added coming from the low-productivity 

service sector. The Inter-American Development Bank (2010) emphasises the 

importance of increasing the productivity of firms at the bottom of the pyramid. 

The third aspect, related to the previous two, is the fact that large portions of 

BRICS populations cannot afford higher-end products. In this regard, it is worth 

mentioning the concepts of “base-of-the-pyramid markets”

84

 and “frugal innovation”, 

illustrated in India’s 12

th

 Five-Year Plan (Planning Commission, 2013: 279): 

“

The core idea is to innovate to produce affordable and qualitative solutions that 

address the needs of people at the Bottom of the Pyramid, eliminate disparity and 

focus on an inclusive growth model.” Similar concepts of “grass-roots innovation”, 

“inclusive innovation”, “innovation for inclusive development”,

85

 with an emphasis 

on fostering interaction between universities, science councils and marginalised 

communities, have been the object of policies in South Africa (Kruss, 2014). 

2.4 Developing indigenous innovations, and the middle-income trap

Overall, the level of innovation activity by enterprises is low compared to developed 

countries. There is a dilemma of how to enter a globalised market while capturing 

a significant share of the value added. 

84. See: <http://goo.gl/5vBZiB>. 
85. See: <http://goo.gl/l6CFsb

>.

Progress through Sharing Knowledge and Innovation 

|

 155

FDI plays an important role in the development of countries such as Brazil 

and China. In China, multinational corporations are responsible for nearly 90 per 

cent of high-tech exports (OECD, 2008).

86

 But their relevance in the technological 

development of the countries that receive investments is controversial. There is 

strong evidence that they invest more in their home countries than abroad (see 

Table 7). In the case of laboratories in developing countries, there is also evidence 

that multinational corporations do not perform much research, but a lot of 

development activities (Cassiolato et al., 2014a). Multinational corporations in 

China 

“

have performed little technological innovation or product design in the 

country. Core technologies mostly remain controlled by the foreign partners 

in joint ventures or by company headquarters abroad” (OECD, 2008, p. 35). 

It is important no note that there are national, sectoral and company specificities 

to this phenomenon (Gastrow and Kruss, 2012).

Studies show that companies that develop the R&D capture most of the 

added value, while those that only assembly the goods capture a small fraction 

(Linden, Kraemer and Dedrick, 2009). 

Two experiences might illustrate how long-term vision and the existence of 

absorptive capabilities are crucial to the development of indigenous innovations. 

In the 1950s Brazil was only beginning its industrialisation process. Against all the 

odds a Brazilian officer

87

 and his team championed the creation of the Technological 

Institute of Aeronautics at the Aerospace Science and Technology Department. 

The inspiration came from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 

and several foreign professors contributed in the early years of the institution. 

In the 1960s, once again against the odds, another Brazilian officer

88

 and his team 

championed the creation of Embraer, which developed its first aircraft under the 

lead of a French engineer,

89

 with a team of Brazilian and overseas engineers formed 

by the Technological Institute of Aeronautics. Challenges such as “green aircraft” 

are a reminder that the need to innovate is never ending.

Sponsors of the SKA project in South Africa soon perceived that a geographical 

advantage alone was not sufficient for success. Efforts to coordinate actors on the 

skills demand side and the skills supply side were developed. The innovation system 

for the astronomy sector include universities, science facilities, research institutes, 

large engineering firms, local and international intermediaries and national policy 

support. The SKA project involves a dense, globally connected innovation network. 

86. See: OECD, 2008.
87. Casimiro Montenegro.
88. Osires Silva.
89. Max Holste.

BRICS Long-Term Strategy

156 

|

This report discusses the contribution of technological catch-up and qualified 

manpower to increasing productivity and competitiveness. However, improving 

living standards to levels approaching those of developed nations involves other 

variables that are beyond the scope of the report.

 3 RECOMMENDATIONS

•  BRICS countries should facilitate visas for researchers, by making special 

arrangements to facilitate and encourage exchanges among BRICS 

researchers, including simplifying visa approval procedures and reducing 

approval times.

•  BRICS should strengthen cooperation under the Patent Cooperation Treaty 

to facilitate the simultaneous registration of patents in all BRICS countries. 

•  BRICS should establish a fund to finance patent applications.
•  BRICS should support joint projects carried out by researchers and insti-

tutions from all BRICS countries. It should create a BRICS framework 

programme similar to the EU FP7 to finance joint projects with funding 

allocated from the New Development Bank. Additionally, partnerships 

should be established among funds supporting research projects in each 

of the BRICS countries to finance joint projects carried out by researchers 

and institutions from all BRICS countries.

•  BRICS should facilitate technology and knowledge transfer. This includes 

by establishing a fund for technology transfer which will act as a depository 

where owners of the rights to technologies will be able to apply for 

assistance in their commercialisation. Projects may be financed by the 

fund or jointly with private companies and development institutions 

from BRICS countries.

•  BRICS should establish a BRICS institute of innovation and technology, 

along the lines of that successfully developed in the European context.

90

•  BRICS should increase its focus on innovation for inclusive development. 

Science and technology in BRICS countries should be harnessed to the 

benefit of poor and marginalised populations, and not only focus on 

the forefront of technology and catch-up. 

•  There has been a number of capital market failures in early-stage funding 

of innovation-driven start-ups in BRICS countries; therefore, BRICS 

should develop research on the comparative assessment of financing  

90. For information about the EU experience. See: <http://eit.europa.eu/>.

Progress through Sharing Knowledge and Innovation 

|

 157

options, comprising comparisons across several national programmes 

that have been in operation,

91

 as well as the experiments with state-

supported venture funding for commercialisation and enterprise creation.

92

•  BRICS countries should sponsor comparative initiatives to enhance 

linkages between universities and industry. The separation of teaching 

and research in BRICS countries has adversely affected innovation. 

They can learn from each other to improve linkages. Experiments with 

various instruments to promote university-industry linkages and public-

private partnerships have been developed, such as incubation centres for 

university spin-offs.

93

•  BRICS countries should consider the possibility of adopting a Bayh-Dole 

Act equivalent in all BRICS nations, covering the ownership of intellectual 

property rights of state-funded research by institutions or researchers.

•  BRICS countries should sponsor research focused on public-private 

partnership funds and efforts to re-invigorate research in universities.

•  BRICS countries should stimulate the sharing of experiences of technology 

licensing offices in universities and R&D institutions and comparative 

research on investments and other policies for higher education to build 

human resources for innovation.

94

•  Given that the TRIPS agreement has affected all BRICS nations, as intellectual 

property rights laws were changed in all of them, BRICS countries should 

stimulate comparative research into regulatory experimentation in intellectual 

property laws,

95

 on compulsory licensing conditions,

96

 on the possibilities 

of collaboration/learning in identifying TRIPS-compatible mechanisms to 

enhance innovations, and on access to new technologies, without having a 

significant adverse impact on incentives to invent and innovate.

•  BRICS countries should provide incentives to stimulate the participation 

of their firms in global production in innovation/technology networks.

•  BRICS countries should cooperate to design a joint position for their 

participation in TRIPS-related negotiations.

91. For example, China: 863; Brazil: FINEP; India: DST; Russia: Do Good Law (2005) and SMEs Law (2006). 
92. For example, SIDBI has been quite useful in India, as has more recently the INFUSE public-private partnership fund 

for clean energy in India.
93. For example, the DST in India, the Innovation Law (2006) in Russia and learnings from China, where this seems 

to be quite successful.
94. For example, special schemes to attract non-residents, and sharing experiences on the impact of such policies.
95. For example, in patentable subject matter (Article 3 (d) in India emphasises higher efficacy for patentability.
96. Chinese law emphasises capability, reasonable effort and time criteria. Similar changes in Brazil?

BRICS Long-Term Strategy

158 

|

ANNEX A

TABLE A.1

Selected indicators of tapping global knowledge and of domestic generation of 
knowledge for the BRICS

Brazil

China

India

Russia

South Africa

Payments for the use of intellectual property 
(USD millions)

2005

 1405

5321

961

1533

1017

2012

3666

17749

2820

7629

2017

Students at tertiary level studying abroad

2000

17,481

140,642

55,875

28,034

5,391

2005

19,631

402,941

139,566

38,948

5,473

2010

27,926

567,574

202,778

49,769

6,321

R&D personnel

2000

73,909

691,518

114,656

504,852

14,032

1

2005

109,510

1,115,384

153,075

462,338

17,088

2010

129,269

1,149,161

NA

438,695

19,177

2

Expenditure on R&D (USD billion, PPP)

2000

656.5

1081.9

356.0

272.7

87.0

1

2005

856.9

2989.9

650.0

815.9

222.5

2010

2486.8

10431.7

938.3

3

1766.8

248.1

4

Scientific and technical journal articles

2000

6,407

18,479

10,276

17,180

2,221

2005

9,897

41,604

14,635

14,425

2,395

2009

12,306

74,019

19,917

14,016

2,864

Source: OECD (2014c: 79).
Notes: 

1

 Figures from 2001.

2 

Figure from 2008. 

3

 Figure from 2007.

4

 Figure from 2000.