faces a crisis, but invested in a different philoso-
phy as early as the 1990s. In most indicators,
Greece’s rankings are far below the EU average.
Very few investments have been made, even in
the private sector, which has long been bound by
the choices of a large and sluggish state. Greece
has also fallen behind in regard to the quality of
the education system, the link between universi-
ties and industry, the ease of setting up new busi-
nesses, and technological infrastructure.
Startup success stories
Some indicators suggest that Greece is perform-
ing above the European average, without, of
course, ever taking the lead — however, they are
the exception, and not the rule. More specifically,
notwithstanding any conventional wisdom, it
seems that, based on relevant research by
European statistical authorities, Greece is rela-
tively open to new ideas (as demonstrated by the
national culture index, adjusted for new ideas),
but lags behind in terms of end results, i.e. the
I
t is no surprise that a well-known scientific
journal exclaimed that, at last, the new Greek
government “is taking science seriously”; that
the country has finally started to resemble the rest
of the developed world, where such ministries
became a reality as early as the 1980s (e.g. the
United Kingdom); and all this when the crisis that
broke out in 2009 has dealt a severe blow to the
scientific community, with salary and research
fund cuts and administrative personnel layoffs.
Alas. For a country such as Greece, innovation
should be a priority for exiting the crisis, not a
mere detail. It should not be a pastime, but a full-
time pursuit, based on front-line planning and firm
political decisions. It is no coincidence that all
international comparisons show that Greece lags
behind in most aspects of innovation, thus run-
ning the risk of missing the technological revolu-
tion, as it missed the Renaissance and the
Industrial Revolution. In other words, it ranks far
below other countries, unlike Ireland, which also
Trade with Greece
72
Innovation in Greece
An insoluble equation, in a
country that can and must
change
Recently, Greece’s new coalition government
decided to create a new ministry, that of Research
and Innovation, under Mr. Costas Fotakis.
This decision was welcomed with a huge sigh of
relief by the scientific community, as it was more
than evident that the country had, up to now,
ignored this field.
By Dimitris Markopoulos
