Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Knowledge ...

Evgeny Popov, Maxim Vlasov and Marina Zubareva
The notion <strong>of</strong> Knowledge Economy reflects <strong>the</strong> recognition that scientific knowledge has directly
determined <strong>the</strong> parameters <strong>of</strong> economic growth in recent years. The application <strong>of</strong> knowledge - as
manifested in areas such as entrepreneurship and innovation, research and development, s<strong>of</strong>tware
and product design, and in people’s education and skills levels - is now recognized to be one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
key sources <strong>of</strong> growth in <strong>the</strong> global economy. But, sustainability <strong>of</strong> growth is a challenge in many
countries both due to internal pressures linked to emerging skills shortages as well as to external
competitiveness pressures linked to <strong>the</strong> intensified market rivalries brought on by <strong>the</strong> knowledge and
ICT-spurred globalization process. These trends make it very important for economies to be well
prepared to be able to adapt, create, use, and disseminate knowledge (The World Bank 2008).
However <strong>the</strong> transition to formation and development <strong>of</strong> Knowledge economy was decelerated by
some institutional, social, infrastructural and o<strong>the</strong>r barriers. It possible to overcome <strong>the</strong>se barriers by
creating effective system <strong>of</strong> developing institutions that is <strong>the</strong> system <strong>of</strong> political, economic, social and
o<strong>the</strong>r institutions leading to realize full country’s potential <strong>of</strong> economic growth and to improving <strong>the</strong>
welfare <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> citizens.
Some countries already can boast <strong>of</strong> a successful experience in creating such developing institutions
systems, for example Israeli program Yozma, CORFO in Chili, AVANCI in Mexico, SITRA in Finland,
programs <strong>of</strong> innovation stimulation in South Korea and Brazil, SBIR in <strong>the</strong> USA and ect.
In line with global trends <strong>the</strong> system <strong>of</strong> developing institutions is beginning to emerge in Russia, <strong>the</strong>
aim <strong>of</strong> which are <strong>the</strong> stimulation <strong>of</strong> innovations, entrepreneurship development and infrastructure
development. However <strong>the</strong> formation <strong>of</strong> such system complicated by imperfection <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> institutional
framework, lack <strong>of</strong> development <strong>of</strong> social, politic and economic institutions, lack <strong>of</strong> incentives for
entrepreneurs to create and apply innovations and <strong>the</strong> presence <strong>of</strong> regional disparities.
Fundamentals <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>oretical studies <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> innovation component <strong>of</strong> entrepreneurship were
established by works <strong>of</strong> J. Schumpeter (Schumpeter 1969), P. Drucker, R. Cantillon (Cantillon 1959),
J. Keynes, F.A. Hayek, A. Hosting, that <strong>the</strong> essence <strong>of</strong> entrepreneurship through research, observe it
as a kind <strong>of</strong> creativity, during which constantly arise innovation and change.
In this context <strong>the</strong> aim <strong>of</strong> this research is to point out <strong>the</strong> working-out <strong>of</strong> institutional structure <strong>of</strong>
economic development system with respect to <strong>the</strong> concept <strong>of</strong> Knowledge economy.
2. Essence <strong>of</strong> Developing Institutions
One <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> topics <strong>of</strong> many discussions devoted to <strong>the</strong> Knowledge Society is a question <strong>of</strong> formation
<strong>the</strong> modern and actual system <strong>of</strong> political, social and economic institutions.
For Russia <strong>the</strong>re is a series <strong>of</strong> researches devoted to <strong>the</strong> solving <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se problems, in which groups
<strong>of</strong> institutions defining potential courses <strong>of</strong> possible structural changes are fit into <strong>the</strong> logical hierarchy.
The researches identify <strong>the</strong> following groups <strong>of</strong> institutions:
Politico-legal institutions connected with civil and political rights <strong>of</strong> citizens, in particular, economic
agents. These institutions ensure <strong>the</strong> protection <strong>of</strong> basic rights: guarantee <strong>of</strong> inviolability <strong>of</strong> person
and property, judicial independence, effectiveness <strong>of</strong> law enforcement, media freedom.
Institutions which provide human capital development. It’s includes, for example, education,
health, pension system, housing and etc.
Economic institutions, namely legislation, which ensure stabile operation and development <strong>of</strong>
national economy, economic growth and structural economy modernization.
Special institutions, <strong>the</strong> purposes <strong>of</strong> which are to solve <strong>the</strong> concrete, specific problems <strong>of</strong>
economic growth. There are so-called “developing institutions”, that are <strong>the</strong> rules <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> game
aimed not at all participants <strong>of</strong> economic or political life, but at some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m definitely selected. In
o<strong>the</strong>r words <strong>the</strong>re are <strong>the</strong> institutions <strong>of</strong> discrete effects on <strong>the</strong> economy, <strong>the</strong> action <strong>of</strong> which is
general in nature.
The special institutions – developing institutions - occupy an especial place among o<strong>the</strong>rs. They have
been at <strong>the</strong> centre <strong>of</strong> economic-policy debate in recent years. The developing institutions are
identified as especial organizations, which differ from <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs that contribute to resources
distribution to <strong>the</strong> benefit <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> realization <strong>of</strong> new potential <strong>of</strong> economic growth <strong>of</strong> a department,
region or a country as a whole in <strong>the</strong> most common understanding.
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