Alexander Kritikos and Odysseas Kartalos argue forcefully that, for Greece, the way out of the current economic crisis is not austerity but a long-term plan focusing on innovative industries with high added value. However, in comparison to other countries in the EU currency union, the country has invested very little in developing a knowledge-based economy. Still, the weakly performing Greek innovation system has important “hidden” assets, including niches of strong academic research, some small hi-tech companies that manage to compete at international level and an impressive diaspora.
The Greek authorities need to use the next EU programming period, beginning in 2014, to invest into high-class research with the major aim of attracting top research and innovation performers. The paper proposes how such initiatives could be designed, taking into account the broader challenges the EU is facing with regards to the international competition in science and technology. More…
I totally agree with the authors, however I think just the opposite is happening in Greece right now, as deep cuts to universities and salaries of personnel have forced many people to leave the country. I personally am an example of that (having emigrated to Denmark at the age of 62 after 24 years at a Greek university), and I know that many other colleagues have left, and many more are trying to leave. So I wonder how realistic the prospects outlined in this article are. Sadly, I do not think they are at all, even though I obviously agree that this is what needs to be done.