Files
Abstract
The paper investigates impact of several scenarios of increasing investments in R&D in Poland with use of a regional CGE model for Poland. The Europe 2020 strategy sets the target of increasing combined public and private investment in R&D to achieve a level of 3 % of R&D in EU’s GDP by 2020. Currently it is 2.1% of GDP on average in the EU, and in Poland only 0.89% of GDP. Specific target established by the EU for Poland to be achieved by year 2020 is 1.7% of GDP. So the policy is very challenging as the R&D expenditure must double in Poland in relatively short time. Yet no specific actions were planned to fulfill the requirement. Hence we simulate two scenarios of possible increase of regional shares of R&D investments in regional GRPs taking into account that regions in Poland differ significantly in their R&D shares in GDP from 0.2% to 1.38%. The main method applied in the paper is a regional CGE model for Poland called POLTERMDyn. Several scenario are analyzed and compared. The first scenario assumes that all regions increase R&D proportionally to their current shares in total R&D spending. The second scenario assumes that all regions increase their R&D share in GDP up to 1,7% by 2020, no matter what were the initial shares of R&D in their GRPs. The results show that the ‘proportional’ and ‘converging’ scenarios have similar and positive impact on Poland’s economy in terms of GDP growth and employment. They boosts several sectors of the economy in addition to R&D services, in particular: construction, accommodation and food, public administration, education and health, in particular. It is important to stress, that regional impacts differ significantly.