![](https://assets.weforum.org/article/image/9nVdQ45rGswiV5574WQAxWDP6UK9E-_kIaPvECma448.jpg)
Economic Growth
Here's why poorer countries aren't investing in R&D
Low-income countries invest very little in their research and development.
Xavi Cirera is a Senior Economist in the Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice at the World Bank. He has more than 15 years’ experience working in different microeconomic areas of development; including innovation and entrepreneurship policies, productivity, firm level dynamics and trade policy. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Sussex and prior to joining the World Bank he was a Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex.