Innovation and Competitiveness of the Slovak Economy: New Evidence of International Impacts in the Knowledge Accumulation Process

The objectives of this paper are twofold - to demonstrate the internal forces driving R&D productivity in Slovakia and the internationalization of Slovak R&D investments and R&D patenting since EU accession as compared to the other Visegrad Four (V4) countries. After the Introduction, Slovakia's position in the field of competitiveness and the Slovak innovation policy are described. The Slovak knowledge accumulation paradox being the discrepancy between R&D productivity and TFP is then demonstrated and disentangled through an analysis of innovation activities using Eurostat and OECD Stat data spanning the 1995-2011 period. This analysis is followed by some concluding remarks.