International Competitiveness of Countries with Unbalanced Innovation Systems

Unbalanced innovation systems are considered to be poorly developed. They can be found in as many as 19 global economy states. They are characterized by gross disparities in terms of the indexes that reflect both innovative capacity and position. Moreover, in the last decade, one could observe notable fluctuations in the innovation and human capital indexes, as well as the exacerbation of existing dissimilarities. Some states with unbalanced innovative systems, such as China, are heading for gradual elimination of divergence, while other systems—for instance, Russia—are experiencing an escalation of dissimilarities (Weresa, Systemy innowacyjne we współczesnej gospodarce światowej, Wyd, Naukowe PWN Warszawa, 2012). This is the reason why these two countries have been selected to serve as examples of unbalanced innovation systems and undergo in-depth analysis. The third case study discussed in this chapter is the case of Mexico, which stands out from the unbalanced innovative systems thanks to its relatively high outlays on education (Weresa Weresa, Systemy innowacyjne we współczesnej gospodarce światowej, Wyd, Naukowe PWN Warszawa, 2012). In this chapter, the development and evolution of competitive advantages of these countries have been evaluated, and the role of human capital and innovativeness in this process has been indicated.