Preface

摘要

Today, many developed states suffer from severe constraints on their budgets due to the financial crisis. To politicians responsible for tight budgets around the globe, it might seem that the best way to deal with the situation is by reducing the funding of non-essential activities, and to concentrate on the core needs of national economies. It is hard to argue against such a procedure, and it is definitely necessary if the financial constraints make the choice inevitable. However, the easiest way to deal with the situation may not be, in longer terms, the most appropriate or the most profitable. Developed economies rely on world-class infrastructure, both, in material, and in intellectual terms. It is only based on this infrastructure that they can produce high-value products for an international clientele. It can be argued that every dollar, euro, or yuan invested in this infrastructure will yield a multiple in terms of international competitiveness. Scientific research, in this respect, deserves to be seen not as a drain on a nation's resources, but as an investment for the future.