Knowledge economy is ‘failing’, say top advisers

A group of top advisers on research and innovation policy has acknowledged that ramping up R&D investments is unlikely on its own to tackle Europe’s economic and social problems.

Research and innovation can provide sustainable solutions to Europe’s social problems, but a broad policy overhaul is needed to make this possible, the European Commission’s top team of research, innovation and science policy experts, the Rise group, has said.

Europe’s knowledge economy at the moment “doesn’t deliver the promises it was meant to fulfil”, the Rise group said in a hefty ‘reflections’ report on the continent’s future, which was published on 15 May. The productivity growth that is needed to raise living standards is too low in Europe, and its benefits are too unequally distributed, leading to social unrest and increasing mistrust of government.