Formation of the Knowledge Economy in Russia: Problems and Solutions

Abstract

For humanity, the 21st century is marked by a transition to a new technological order, which is characterized by giving great importance to management technologies and the development of non-productive areas of activity (science, education, health care, culture). This transition coincides with the transition to a knowledge economy, for which knowledge, innovation and human capital are of paramount importance. For Russia, the study of the problems of the formation and development of the knowledge economy is particularly relevant. According to a number of researchers, it is too early to talk about the formation of the knowledge economy in Russia. The author highlights the list of problems hindering the development of the knowledge economy in our country, namely: low level of R&D funding, low share of domestic R&D costs in GDP, significant predominance of public funds in the structure of R&D sources of funding, imbalance in the financing of fundamental and applied scientific research, the preservation of negative growth rates of the main indicators of postgraduate and doctoral studies, “brain drain” and “ideas leakage”, the absence of a common conception for the development of education, the inconsistency of the education system with the requirements of the labor market, a drop in the quality of school and higher professional education, an insufficient level of funding for education in Russia, and the problem of professional selection in pedagogical universities. The present article sets out the author’s view on solving these problems. In particular, the author argues that to tackle the problem of insufficient funding for science and education in Russia, it is necessary to create such mechanisms that would, on the one hand, diversify the sources of funding for science and education, and on the other hand, let the State to play the main role in these areas.