INVESTING INTO SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

Creating a European Research Area (ERA) was defined as a strategic goal in the area of scientific research and technological development at the Lisbon Conference 2000. The Seventh Framework Programme for research and technological development (FP7) is one of the instruments for reaching the goals set by the Lisbon Conference in which the European Union defines its development strategy for the upcoming period. One of the key aspects of this strategy is knowledge as the leverage of society. The base of economic growth is a society capable to create new values. Economis growth and development are complementary terms. Economic growth is connected to increasing production per head of population, whereas economic development includes an improvement of institutional, social and political conditions. In public debates, the greatest importance is given to the reduction of public expenses, monetary and fiscal politics, while all talk of innovations, research and quality of gained and kept knowledge merely sporadically touch the core of the problem. However, this work researches the way that investments in scientific research affect the increase of the gross social product, which makes greater national budget possible, influencing public expenditure