How to break the soviet NIS model? Lessons from Estonia and Moldova.

Abstract: Estonia has taken an upward trend in terms of innovation and economic growth since 1991 and is currently the most prosperous ex-USSR country. Moldova on the other hand, another ex-USSR country, is one of the poorest countries in Europe and it has more or less stagnated for the past 2 decades in terms of innovation and R&D. Estonia’s NIS (National Innovation System) has evolved remarkably and we would like to see what specific changes has Estonia implemented in order to modify and disestablish the soviet NIS model. This study seeks to make a contribution towards the understanding of soviet-specific failures determining the stagnation of Moldova’s NIS while also looking at the actions taken by Estonia which helped it make the transition from a soviet NIS to a modern and efficient one. At the same time, a causality relationship is identified between certain system failures which contribute to the organisational and institutional thinness of a post-soviet NIS. By mapping the specific actions undertaken by Estonia, advisory guidelines could be created for overcoming post-soviet system failures, in countries like Moldova which are struggling in transforming and transitioning their NIS.