Innovation in European Union Countries

The paper sets out to evaluate the innovativeness of European Union member states and determine Poland’s standing in a league table of EU economies in terms of innovation. The analysis is based on innovation indices reported by the European Commission, specifically the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) for 2004-2008 and the Summary Innovation Index (SII). The author determines the innovation scores of individual countries by calculating a 2004-2008 summary innovation index for EU members using a method based on Z. Hellwig’s development model.The results are compared against those quoted in European Commission reports. The research showed that both the method proposed by the European Commission and the Hellwig development model can be used to measure innovation in EU countries, Stec says. This is confirmed by a high level of correlation between the results as reflected by Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. The author compares Poland with other EU economies in terms of innovation. This comparison reveals that the Polish economy is still at an early stage of innovation, Stec says. In the EIS, Poland was classified among catching-up economies, and in Hellwig’s method it was grouped together with countries with a low level of innovation. The author also analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the Polish economy in terms of innovation