A New Index Measure of Technological Capabilities for Developing Countries

This study is conducted to develop a new measurement tool to analyze the extent of innovation by developing nations. The role of science and technology in enhancing the rate of innovation is also investigated. The existing methods for measuring innovation such as Technology Index (WEF), Technology Achievement Index (UNDP), Industrial Development Scorecard (UNIDO), ArCo (Archibugi and Coco) and Science and Technology Index (RAND Corporation) are compared and based on their limitations a new tool with higher advantage is developed. The new index labeled as Technology Creation Index (TC-index) is decomposed into six distinct components. The index is estimated for 61 developing countries from Asia, North and South America and Africa. The countries are classified into three groups based on their extent of innovation derived from principal component analysis to assess the country group heterogeneity. The results suggest that in construction of the TC-index patents granted, human development index, local availability of specialized training and resources, foreign direct investment inflows, number of citations per science and education articles, secondary gross enrollment rate and science and education journals are identified as the main contributors to the higher rate of innovation in developing nations.