Forging future through innovation

The world is always on the lookout for new products, new ideas and new solutions that would make our lives better and easy. And mostly that, according to the newly released Global Innovation Index 2019, happens in the high-income economies, where the research and development thrive. The North Africa and Western Asia region which includes Bahrain has covered substantial grounds on the index which measures 80 parameters including research, technology and creativity.

On that ranking of 129 world economies, our Kingdom is placed 78th, which also means that there is enough room for us to improve. The report, compiled by World Intellectual Property Organisation, Cornell University and INSEAD, however, comes with a warning. It says there are signs of waning public support for research and development in high-income economies usually responsible for pushing the innovation envelope and increased protectionism.

But, don’t worry, as it also says that spending on innovation is still growing and appears resilient despite the slowdown. “In particular, protectionism that impacts technology-intensive sectors and knowledge flows pose risks to global innovation networks and innovation diffusion,” the report said. “If left uncontained, these new obstacles to international trade, investment, and workforce mobility will lead to a slowdown of growth in innovation productivity and diffusion across the globe.”

The annual rankings came as the International Monetary fund slashed its economic growth forecast for the Middle East and North Africa to the worst level in more than a decade over Iran sanctions and regional unrest. In this edition, the report adopts a special theme: Creating Healthy Lives—The Future of Medical Innovation.

Notable moves in GII

Notable moves in GII rankings this year include the United Arab Emirates (36th); Vietnam (42nd), and Thailand (43rd) getting closer to the top 40; India (52nd) getting closer to the top 50; the Philippines (54th) breaking into the top 55. The performance improvement of India is particularly noteworthy. India continues to be the most innovative economy in Central & Southern Asia—a distinction held since 2011 —improving its global rank to 52nd in 2019.

India is consistently among the top in the world in innovation drivers such as ICT services exports, Graduates in science & engineering, the quality of universities, Gross capital formation—a measure of economy-wide investments— and Creative goods exports. India also stands out in the GII ranking of the world’s top science and technology clusters, with Bengaluru, Mumbai, and New Delhi featuring prominently among the global top 100 clusters.

Given its size—and if progress is upheld—India will make a true impact on global innovation in the years to come. Saudi Arabia (68th), Tunisia (70th), Bahrain (78th), Azerbaijan (84th), Jordan (86th), Algeria (113th) and Yemen (129th) see a more modest decline in their GII position.

Bahrain’s effective government

The index paints a detailed picture of Bahrain based on the performance parameters on which the GII ranking is based. In terms of Government effectiveness, GII places Bahrain at 60th rank citing the quality of the regulatory environment ranked at 39 and the Kingdom’s effectiveness of the Rule of law also scoring high on the index.

Ease of doing biz

When it comes to ease of starting a business, the index ranks Bahrain 56th, while the overall Business environment here is ranked 75. Ease of resolving insolvency, which is currently ranked 83, is acting as a drag on the system. On the scale of education, Bahrain is ranked 83.

The rating is based on Expenditure on education (115), Government funding (66), school life expectancy (46) and pupil-teacher ratio. The Kingdom, however, scores high on the pupil-teacher ratio in the secondary education sector taking a rank of 32.

R&D

For Research & development (R&D), Bahrain is positioned 89th. The ranking is based on gross expenditure on R&D as a percentage of GDP (107), Global R&D companies (43), Researchers (72) and university ranking (70) among others.

Infra shines

Infrastructures development is one area where Bahrain shines by breaking into the top 50 reaching 45th position. Powering this achievement is developments in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) ranked 34, Government online services (45), and E-participation (53).

Ranked 3rd in Electricity output

General infrastructure development which includes Electricity output, logistics performance also makes Bahrain proud by achieving a ranking of 27 globally. Based on Electricity output, Bahrain is ranked third globally with the sector also hailed as one of the strengths of Bahrain.

Market sophistication

When it comes to market sophistication, Bahrain is ranked 79, powered by the ease of getting credit, market capitalisation as well as venture capital deal among others. University/industry research collaboration in the Kingdom is also ranked high at 50.

Software development

The index further shows that Bahrain is spending high on developing computer software. Based on this, Bahrain is ranked 39 globally. Closely following is the ICT services exports sector at 32. The Kingdom also scores high, when it comes to the Entertainment and Media market. The index ranks Bahrain 37th globally. Online creativity is another area where the Kingdom shines. Mobile app creation and related activities are ranked 87 on the table.

Economic growth

Bahrain also shows a 15.1 per cent improvement in terms of economy during the period from 2016 to 2019.

Switzerland most innovative

Switzerland, according to the report, is the world’s most innovative country for a second consecutive year while Asian giant India made the biggest strides among major economies, a global indicator showed Wednesday. Switzerland was closely followed by Sweden and the United States, with Israel rounding out the top 10. India, where the announcement was made, was ranked 52nd but has leaped up the rankings in recent years, WIPO assistant director-general Naresh Prasad said.