Demand and Supply of R&D in Business and State Sector in Bulgaria

The study discusses the problem of determining the levels and trends in supply and demand for research and development (R&D) in Bulgaria as a problem of the modern market development of the knowledge economy. To solve this problem an own approach of positioning indicators for R&D as indicators of demand and supply in general and by institutional sectors is applied. The results achieved prove that the supply and demand for R&D in the government and the business sectors are still low and lagging behind the observed period 2000-2011/2012, despite the sharp increase in funding for these activities from abroad after 2010. The paper brings arguments that the latter is accompanied by a reduction in funding from the state and business, leading to a significant change in the supply of R&D – now mainly business has the resources for them. At the same time there is an increase of the imbalance between financing R&D and their results by institutional sectors. The conclusion is that this imbalance and the low level associated with suggest radical change in science and innovation policy. Some parameters of this change are set.