Innovation system of Ukraine: potential of import substitution by high-tech products

Abstract

Background. The main driver of Ukraine's development should be an innovative type of economy, the presence of a national innovation system (NIS), the functioning of which is determined by the peculiarities of the state's economy. Today, the deepening of technological gap between Ukraine and developed countries is defined as a result of the orientation of the domestic economy for the production of traditional industrial products with low gross value added, which is implemented in saturated, hopeless for further development of markets, as well as through the direction of research of domestic scientific institutions, mainly to ensure the needs of raw materials economy. Elimination of Ukraine's lag in technological development requires systemic changes in the methods of state regulation of economic development, education, forming an innovative model of high-tech development. Import substitution, which is considered as a transition stage for accelerated modernization of production, can further create basic conditions for the development of high-tech export-oriented development.
The analysis of recent research and publications showed that an innovative model of economic growth is one of the strategic objectives of Ukraine's development, but issues remain open regarding the compliance of domestic scientific and technological potential to the objectives of the National Innovation System of Ukraine, which is currently formed.
The aim of the article is to study the national innovation system of Ukraine and the disclosure of import substitution capacity with high-tech products.
Materials and methods. During the study, methods of statistical analysis, synthesis, grouping and graphic representation of results are used.
Research results. As a result of consideration of the classical and modern concepts of the formation and functioning of the NIS in the article, the components of the NIS are summarized, the relationship between the participants of the innovation process is investigated, the features of the functioning of the NIS (TH and QH) models are identified, the actual definition of the national innovation system is proposed and the main patterns of development of the NIS on the present stage are distinguished.
It has been established that four models of the NIS - Euro-Atlantic, East Asian, model of the third world countries and transitional are functioning in the world. It is proved that Ukraine currently belongs to countries with a transitional model of the national innovation system. The factors that determine the crisis situation in the country's innovation system have been identified: external and internal imbalances of economic development; imperfection of the legislative base in terms of stimulating innovation activity; lack of proper innovation infrastructure and mechanisms of commercialization of scientific and technical developments; spontaneous initiation of innovations; inconsistency and inefficiency of state innovation policy; insufficient level and unstable financing of innovation activity.
Based on the analysis of foreign trade in high-tech products by harmonization of domestic foreign trade statistics with the standards of world classification of trade in high-tech products, it is concluded that the share of exports of high-tech products in the overall export of Ukrainian goods is rather low, instead, the tendencies of increasing the share of high-tech products in general imports are intensifying.
In the framework of the outlining the prospects for the development of the domestic NIS, four possible scenarios for the development of the Ukrainian innovation sphere are considered in the conditions of the implementation of technological contributions - “technological stagnation”, “technological inertia”, “new technological niches” and “technological breakthrough” and the proposals for increasing the potential of the national innovation system are provided.
Conclusions. The innovative path of economic development is non-alternative for Ukraine, but the modernization of the economy and ensuring long-term sustainable development cannot be achieved without improving the financing system and stimulating innovation processes in the country. Therefore, a consistent comprehensive state policy on transferring Ukraine to the innovative path of development, the formation of a national innovation ecosystem (a set of institutions, relations, as well as various types of resources involved in the process of creating and applying scientific knowledge and technologies), is required, which would contribute to its implementation and development of innovative culture in the state, using, in addition to financial, and other mechanisms of innovation activity development.