EBRD Transition report-Transition through Innovation

Presenter: Peter Sanfey, Deputy Director, EBRD

Discussants: James Roaf, IMF resident representative in CEE

                      Christopher Hartwell, President of CASE Research

                      Slavo Radosevic, Acting Director, UCL SSEES (chair)

How can firms in transition countries become more productive? And how can a dynamic business sector help countries grow? This year’s Report seeks answers to these important questions by analysing firm innovation across the transition region.

The Transition Report 2014 exploits a unique enterprise survey that for the first time unlocks detailed information on how firms innovate by introducing new products, new production processes, new ways to organize themselves, and new ways to market their products and services. The report also takes stock of firms’ investments in research and development (R&D) and provides new insights into how managerial practices influence firm productivity.

A key theme of this report is that individual firms can make a difference. Even in countries that seem ‘stuck in transition’, firm managers can make decisions that have a profound impact on the efficiency and productivity of the businesses they run.

Against this background, Chapters 1 to 4 of the report examine the link between innovation and productivity and look at factors both internal and external to the firm that drive innovation. The last two sections of the report examine recent regional macroeconomic developments, provide an economic outlook for the transition region, and discuss recent trends in structural reforms during 2013-14.