Letters to the Editor – 09/05 – Chinese innovation, Best of Twitter
Chinese innovation
[Re: As Alibaba unveils its IPO plans, can China leapfrog the West in innovation? yesterday]
China has a huge pool of natural resources and a vast supply of cheap labour. But the key to unlocking innovation lies in having leading higher education institutions and research. A quality deficit can in part be compensated for by funding (and China is engaged in an arms race in this respect), but it takes time to deliver results. And our research shows that there are many non-funding drivers of research quality. Institutions like Harvard and Oxford, for example, benefit from a historic legacy, helping attract and retain the best academics.
Sam Williams, director, Economic Insight
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