The Innovation Potential of the Republic of Serbia: A GII-Based Assessment
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46793/Rev26113.086BTKeywords:
Global Innovation Index, innovation capacity, human capital, infrastructure, institutions, business sophistication, Serbia, GDP per capita, innovation efficiencyAbstract
This paper examines how the components of the Global Innovation Index (GII) influence the innovation potential of the Republic of Serbia over the period 2011–2025. The analysis is conducted through a comparative study of six Central and Eastern European economies (Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovenia, and Croatia), with the aim of identifying the key predictors of innovation potential in the selected region. In addition, a partial correlation analysis is applied to explore the relationships between GII components and GDP per capita. The findings indicate that infrastructure represents the most consistent and strongest driver of both GDP growth and innovation performance in Serbia. This differs from the top-performing countries in the region, where institutional quality and business sophistication play a decisive role in transforming innovation inputs into outputs. In contrast, investment in human capital appears to be the weakest element of Serbia’s innovation system, showing no statistically significant contribution to innovation performance. Such structural imbalance suggests that Serbia’s economic growth relies more on investment-driven factors rather than knowledge-based ones. The results point to the need for targeted policies focused on strengthening the institutional framework, improving business sophistication, and strategically investing in human capital, to enhance the efficiency of converting inputs into innovation outputs and to ensure sustainable, innovation-driven development.
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