The Role of Innovation and Human Factor in the Development of East Central Europe

Abstract

Schumpeter’s one-hundred-year-old modernised theory of economic development is once again having a renaissance. The main factors of this are innovation and capital, which Porter expanded using further factors. In this report the following six countries were examined: Montenegro, Serbia, Russia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. Between 2007 and 2017, the roles that technological innovation, human factors and higher education played were examined. Indices used in the analysis were expanded using factors added to Schumpeter’s theory by Porter, viz., economic growth, the development of the information technology sector, higher education, productivity and innovation, and they give an overview of the modern innovation theories. Due to the objectiveness of statistical indicators, it was these which were predominantly included in the report. The aim of the study was to examine will a given country be likely to have an economic development if the country makes the most of the opportunities that innovation and higher education present.