GENEVA: A revival of industrial policies is under way around the world, the United Nations said on Thursday, with countries going for technological innovation to diversify their economies.

The UN’s World Intellectual Property Organisation said greater productivity levels could be reached through specialising in existing strengths. “In economies of all sizes, we are seeing a resurgence in industrial policymaking,” said WIPO chief Daren Tang.

“This includes in many developing and least developed countries, who are increasingly targeting economic diversification — and the innovation, creativity and technology required to achieve it — as a means of securing supply chains, addressing national and international challenges and driving sustainable growth.

“More and more economies see their future in innovation, creativity, technology and entrepreneurship,” he added. The UN agency on Thursday released its World Intellectual Property Report, which is aimed at helping policymakers make better decisions by strengthening national innovation systems.

Published every two years, the report sheds light on the role of innovation in market economies, looking at specific trends in intellectual property. It said the past few years had seen a revival of industrial policies, in response to challenges such as climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Transforming the structure

The report said the top economies for scientific, technological and production capabilities were all high-income countries, such as the United States, France, Germany, Japan and South Korea, and/or large economies such as China and India.

It said that by specialising in their existing strengths, countries and regions could achieve higher levels of productivity and innovation.

“In short, economies grow by transforming their production structure from one dominated by low-tech, ubiquitous activities to one with rare outputs that are more reliant on skilled human capital,” the report said.

Analysis of nearly 40 million patent filings, over 70 million scientific papers and economic activity worth more than $300 trillion in goods and services exports showed that innovative outcomes are highly concentrated, said WIPO.

“Over the past 20 years, for example, the top eight countries account for 50 per cent of exports, 60pc of scientific publications and 80pc of international patenting,” it said.

However, change is under way, WIPO added, saying China, India and South Korea saw big increases in their technological diversification over the last two decades.

China jumped from being specialised in only 16pc to 94pc of all technological capabilities; South Korea’s technological capabilities went from 40pc to 83pc, and India saw its technological capabilities double from nine percent to 21pc.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2024