Investments in research activities of the manufacturing industry and innovativeness in economy of the Republic of Serbia

The aim of the study in this paper is to examine the effects of investment in research and development activities of the manufacturing industry on the innovativeness in economy of the Republic of Serbia, and to draw conclusions in which direction further investments should be managed, bearing in mind that the importance of the processing industry for the overall economy has been growing from year to year. The comparative analysis shows the movement of the basic indicators of the manufacturing industry sector, as well as the movement of three basic indicators of the innovativeness in economy of the Republic of Serbia: GII (Global Innovation Index), GCI (Global Competitiveness Index) and SII (Summary Innovation Index). Based on the application of regression and correlation analysis, a weak contribution of gross domestic expenditures for research and development in the manufacturing industry to the improvement of the innovativeness in economy of the Republic of Serbia can be seen. On the other hand, a strong connection was established between the total gross domestic expenditures for research and development (at the level of the economy) and indicators of economic innovation, which indicates the need to restructure research and development expenditures in the direction of the manufacturing industry, with the aim of its greater contribution to the innovation of the overall economy. The progress of the economy of the Republic of Serbia viewed through the ranking and points of the used indicators of innovation can be attributed to investments in research and development activities in the area of other sectors of the economy, which can be the subject of some future research.