Նորարարությունը որպես տնտեսության մրցունակության բարձրացման շարժիչ ուժ / Innovation as a Driving Force for Enhancing Economic Competitiveness

Under the conditions of technological progress, the most significant prerequisite for the competitiveness of the economy in the long term and the best way to resist global challenges is the development of the innovation sector. The relationships between quantitative and qualitative characteristics of innovation and economic status index also provide evidence for that point of view. From these perspectives, it is coming on the agenda to develop and implement innovation development policy. It requires a quantitative assessment of the innovation system, one of the most important components of which is the classification of countries with different levels of development. In the paper, a similar analysis was implemented using the clustering tool, which enables to group countries according to innovation indicators and economic status index, and assess the progress or regression of countries. Based on the results, three groups of countries were distinguished: "leaders", "initiators" and "laggards". The most competitive countries were involved in the "leaders" cluster, which stand out with the best values of the indicators characterizing the innovative system. Meanwhile, the other two clusters include economically vulnerable countries with underdeveloped innovative system that require the development and implementation of effective innovation policy. From the perspective of practical significance, the results of the research are essential in the context of reviewing, adjusting policy priorities, selecting implementation mechanisms and achieving targets.