According to the OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2005, the importance of non-OECD-countries in driving global innovation is increasing fast. The recent report shows that offshoring of research and development is on the rise, with more multinationals setting up research and development laboratories abroad. China is now the third largest performer in the field behind the United States and Japan. The change is largely due to the rapid growth in researcher salaries that have encouraged talented Chinese scientists and engineers to remain in China.

With a wide range of internationally comparable indicators, the OECD Scoreboard gives policy makers and analysts a comprehensive overview of the growing impact of globalisation on the knowledge economy.