Science and Technology Studies Commons^™

Erawatch Country Reports 2013: Italy, Leopoldo Nascia, Mario Pianta

Mario Pianta

The evolution of the research and innovation (R&I) system in Italy has been heavily affected by the economic crisis, the reduction in public expenditure associated to austerity programmes, and the fall of private R&D and investment efforts. Italy’s GDP has fallen in 2012 (-2.5%) and in 2013 (-1.8%); Eurostat forecasts a slight growth of GDP in 2014, but at a lower rate than the EU28 average. The share of R&D in GDP in 2012 is 1.27%, as opposed to a EU28 average of 2.06. Italy’s level continues to be far from the 1.53% share of GDP stated as the target …