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Germany World Champion in Export of Technology-Based Goods
The German cabinet has approved the “Report on the Technological Capabilities of Germany 2007” and sent it to the lower chamber of the Parliament, the Bundestag. Prepared by five economic think tanks, the Report concludes that no other country exports as many technology-based goods as Germany. Germany is on a sustainable course of economic growth. “German economic dynamism translates into the capacity to innovate,” said Education and Research Minister Annette Schavan. The federal government’s policies fostering innovation have made a large contribution to this development. German businesses are innovators Ahead of the United States and Japan, Germany is the world’s leading exporter of research-intensive goods, with exports of 428.3 billion euros. Sixty-five percent of German businesses belong to the category of innovators. The German economy’s high level of innovation is also shown in the number of applications for patents relevant to the world market. With 288 patents registered per million job holders, Germany stands significantly above the average of the OECD countries. At the basis of the expansion of the research- and knowledge-intensive branches of the economy is the improvement in the German international cost competitiveness, on the one hand. On the other hand, the good economic situation in Germany is creating additional opportunities for businesses to invest more in research and development.
According to Schavan, conditions are favorable for this expansion: higher business profits, large gains in productivity, lower labor-unit costs, reduced rates of inflation and, last but not least, the downward course of business taxes. Government’s research and development program and high-tech strategy With its 6 billion euro program for research and development and its strategy for the development of the high-tech sector the government has established favorable guidelines, a fact acknowledged by the think tanks in their report. For the first time there is an integrated concept for the innovation policy. The proposed interlinking between economy and science will be consistently pursued. Leading markets for exports and leading-edge areas for research and technologies will be developed. A change in paradigm has been produced in the science policy through the Pact for Research and Innovation and the Excellence Initiative. These have allowed the federal government to improve sustainable conditions for leading-edge research and academic output. In this context, it seems likely that Germany will be investing 3 percent of its gross national product in research and development by 2010. This was the goal set for the European Union by the Council of Europe in its Lisbon meeting. “With the joint efforts of the German states (Länder) and the economy we can achieve this objective,” remarked Schavan. Establishing a positive environment Competitive tax conditions are important to strengthen the German economy’s investment in research and development. This, in turn, produces competitive jobs. The reform of the business tax is an important step in this direction. Young and innovative businesses should benefit from the planned law on venture capital shares. Developing consistently the high-tech strategy There is an additional potential for growth through the application of information and communications technologies. This is particularly true of research-intensive economic sectors such as the auto industry and knowledge-intensive services such as logistics. In addition, the strategic association between state, economy and science will be continued. By fall, a strategy for climate protection will be presented. The second summit on energy organized by Chancellor Angela Merkel in July will seek to stimulate gains in the efficient use of energy and the strengthening of research activities. Overcoming the lack of skilled workers through the Qualifications Initiative The report confirms a growing lack of skilled workers and professionals in Germany. The demand for workers with a tertiary education is particularly strong. In order to achieve the objective of the Lisbon Strategy an additional 70,000 engineers will be needed.
In response to this situation the government will present during the fall a Qualifications Initiative. Schavan has voiced her conviction that the qualified human resources challenge will be overcome through a concerted action with the participation of the economy, the trade unions, the federal government and the German states. Among the goals to be achieved are that fewer young people break off their educational studies or professional training and that the proportion of the population attending universities increases to 40 percent. With the Higher Education Pact 2020 the federal government and the states have taken an important step in that direction. Skilled personnel not employable at a certain time should be reintegrated into the labor market through continuing education and/or training. Another important task is to increase the participation of women in the labor market. In addition, said Schavan, conditions in Germany should be made favorable enough to attract the most qualified foreign personnel to the country. The“Report on the Technological Capabilities of Germany” will not be again published in its current form. In the future, an international, independent “Commission of Experts on Research and Innovation” will present reports on those subjects every two years. June 27, 2007 Links
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