UNESCO SCIENCE REPORT

UNESCO SCIENCE REPORT
The countries of the Caribbean Common Market
(CARICOM) (Chapter 6) have been hit by the post-2008
economic slowdown in developed countries, on which
they are highly dependent for trade. After meeting their
debt obligations, there is little left over for the state to
spend on socio-economic development. Many countries
also rely heavily on volatile earnings from tourism and
remittances.
The region is vulnerable to natural disasters. A costly and
ageing fossil-fuel-based energy infrastructure and acute
vulnerability to climate change make renewable energy an
obvious focus for future research. The Caribbean Community
Climate Change Centre Plan (2011–2021) for climate change
mitigation and resilient development is a key step in this
direction.
Health is another key priority, the region boasting several
centres of excellence in this field. One of these, St George’s
University, produces 94% of Grenada’s refereed publications.
Thanks to the impressive growth in output from this
university in recent years, Grenada is now only surpassed by
the larger Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago for the volume
of internationally catalogued publications.
One of the region’s greatest challenges will be to develop
a more vibrant research culture. Even the more affluent
Trinidad and Tobago spends just 0.05% of GDP (2012) on
R&D. Poor data hamper evidence-based STI policy-making
in most countries. Existing pockets of research excellence
in academia and business tend to owe more to dynamic
individuals than to any particular policy framework.
The Strategic Plan for the Caribbean Community (2015–2019)
is a first for the region. This planning document advocates
nurturing innovation and creativity, entrepreneurship,
digital literacy and inclusiveness. CARICOM countries stand
to gain a lot from a genuinely regional approach to STI by
reducing duplication and promoting synergies in research.
There are already some bases to build upon, including the
regional University of the West Indies and the Caribbean
Science Foundation.
Socio-economic development in Latin America (Chapter 7)
has slowed after a buoyant decade, especially for the
region’s commodity exporters, but high-tech production
and exports remain marginal for most Latin American
countries.
There is, however, a growing public policy focus on research
and innovation. Several countries now have sophisticated
STI policy instruments in place. The region is also leading
efforts to understand and promote the role of indigenous
knowledge systems for development.
However, with the exception of Brazil (Chapter 8), no Latin
American country has an R&D intensity comparable to that
of dynamic emerging market economies. To narrow this
gap, countries need to start by augmenting the number
of researchers. It is, thus, encouraging that investment
in higher education is on the rise; so, too, are scientific
production and international scientific collaboration.
Latin America’s modest performance in patenting reveals
a lack of zeal for technology-driven competitiveness. There
is a trend towards greater patenting in natural resourcerelated
sectors such as mining and agriculture, however,
largely through public research institutions.
In order to harness STI to development more effectively,
some Latin American countries have adopted measures to
support strategic sectors such as agriculture, energy and
ICTs, including a focus on biotechnologies and
nanotechnologies. Examples are Argentina, Brazil, Chile,
Mexico and Uruguay. Other countries are targeting science
and research funding to expand endogenous innovation,
such as Panama, Paraguay and Peru, or promoting broadbased
strategies to foster competitiveness, as in the
Dominican Republic and El Salvador.
Technologies fostering sustainable development are an
emerging priority throughout Latin America, especially in
the area of renewable energy, but the region needs to do
much more to close the gap with dynamic emerging markets
in technology-focused manufacturing. A first step will be to
instil greater stability in long-term STI policy-making and to
prevent a proliferation of strategies and initiatives.
Brazil (Chapter 8) has faced an economic slowdown since
2011 that has affected its capacity to push on with socially
inclusive growth. The slowdown has been triggered by
weaker international commodities markets, coupled with
the perverse effects of economic policies designed to fuel
consumption. In early 2015, Brazil entered into recession for
the first time in six years.
Labour productivity has stagnated, despite a range
of policies to revive it. Since productivity levels are an
indication of the rate of absorption and generation of
innovation, this trend suggests that Brazil has not managed
to harness innovation to economic growth. The Brazilian
experience is akin to that of the Russian Federation and
South Africa, where labour productivity has stagnated since
1980, unlike in China and India.
Brazil’s R&D intensity in both the government and business
enterprise sectors has grown but the GERD/GDP ratio failed
to reach the government target of 1.50% by 2010 (1.15% in
2012) and business stands no chance of contributing the
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