AUTHORS OR OTHER APPRPRIATE TEXT Trends in research and development expenditure in South Africa (2010–2013): Policy implications

Fostering and supporting high levels of expenditure on research and development (R&D) activity is an established and critical component in the efforts of countries to enhance their global competitiveness. The economic and science and technology policy community has adopted the R&D intensity ratio, which measures gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), as an indicator of the extent of support for R&D. In recent economic policy statements, the government of South Africa has set a target of achieving an R&D intensity ratio of 1.5 % by 2019 and suggests that this is necessary as a contribution to achieving key developmental objectives. This is an ambitious target, particularly because in recent years R&D intensity has remained sluggish. For example, in 2009 GERD fell in both nominal and real terms. This coincided with a fall in R&D intensity, which despite recent recovery remains well outside the range of the new target. The pattern of declining R&D intensity in South Africa is mirrored by several other countries including Russia (one of the Brazil, Russia