Index Shows US, China Make Gains in Technology Development

 

A new report lists the United States among the five most innovative¹ economies in the world.

Switzerland was the top rated country on the list, known as the Global Innovation Index 2019. It is followed by Sweden, the U.S., the Netherlands and Britain.

United Nations officials released the findings. The index is a project of the U.N. World Intellectual Property Organization, the business school INSEAD, and Cornell University in New York.

The report notes, “Innovation is blossoming around the world,” although concerns about an economic slowdown and trade disputes continue.

Researchers used 80 economic measures to arrive at the final ratings. These included traditional measures like investment in research and development, as well as the number of international patents and trademarks³ sought. More modern measures include the number of mobile phone applications and high-technology exports produced.

The researchers considered different industries within each economy. The new report also has a special area on medical innovation. It describes artificial intelligence (AI), genomics and mobile health applications as areas that will change the way health care is provided for rich and developing nations.

Businesses spending more on development

The report studied the amount of money that businesses spend on research and development and compared it to government spending. It found that, in 2017, governments increased research and development spending by about 5 percent while businesses increased spending by 6.7 percent.

“Never in history have so many scientists worldwide labored⁴ at solving the most pressing global challenges,” the report said.

On the list of 129 economies, China appears in 14th place, moving up from 17th place a year ago.

The report praises China as a country “in the group of leading innovative nations.” The reasons, the report said, included China being a top producer of patents, industrial designs and trademarks. China also has many “high-tech exports and creative goods exports,” it added.

The United States rose from sixth place overall last year to third. The index rated the U.S. first for the openness of its markets and credit availability. It also ranked highly in patents and spending growth.

Some countries’ innovations outperformed others for the size of their economies. Among the top outperformers were India, Vietnam, Kenya and Moldova. India is number 52 on the new list, and ranked as the most innovative economy in Central and South Asia.

But many countries still do not have strong innovation in their economies. The bottom 10 countries in the index are Nicaragua, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Benin, Zambia, Guinea, Togo, Niger, Burundi and Yemen.

The report identified two issues that could slow growth in innovation in health care and other industries.

The first was slow spending on research and development by public organizations. The report said this was especially the case with high-income economies. It warned that because research and development drive technology, industries like health care could be affected⁵.

The other issue was protectionism affecting the technology industry. The report said that efforts to place trade barriers hurting technology-intensive industries and limits to knowledge flows present risks to innovation around the world.

I’m Mario Ritter, Jr.

Words in This Story

innovative – adj. introducing or using new ideas and methods to solve problems

blossom – v. to change and grow more fully⁶

patent – n. an official document that gives a person or company the right to be the only one to sell or produce a product for a set amount of time

trademark² – n. something that identifies a product and cannot be used by another company without permission

application – n. a computer program that performs a special task

genomics – n. a field of study related to the genes⁷ of living things

challenge – n. a difficult problem

outperform – v. to perform better than a competitor even if you do not have as much that competitor

income – n. earnings; profits

1 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

2 trademark   

n.商标；特征；vt.注册的…商标

参考例句：

• The trademark is registered on the book of the Patent Office.该商标已在专利局登记注册。
• The trademark of the pen was changed.这钢笔的商标改了。

3 trademarks   

n.（注册）商标( trademark的名词复数 )；（人的行为或衣着的）特征，标记

参考例句：

• Motrin and Nuprin are trademarks of brands of ibuprofen tablets. Nuprin和Motrin均是布洛芬的商标。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many goods in China have the trademarks of a panda. 中国的许多商品都带有熊猫的商标。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 labored   

adj.吃力的，谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing. 我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。 来自辞典例句
• They have labored to complete the job. 他们努力完成这一工作。 来自辞典例句

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪