Knowledge Economy Reading Notes
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Knowledge Economy Reading Notes Revision
The following is a plain text extract of the PDF sample above, taken from our Economic Geography Notes. This text version has had its formatting removed so pay attention to its contents alone rather than its presentation. The version you download will have its original formatting intact and so will be much prettier to look at.The Knowledge-Based Economy David & Foray 2001 General overview. Historical perspective on the knowledge economy -- [Mokyr]
knowledge always a factor in development (immanent, W ideas of progress), organisations and institutions to create and disseminate knowledge late mediaeval guilds. The knowledge-based economy is therefore “more a ‘sea-change’ than a sharp discontinuity.” Acceleration and unprecedented speed in which knowledge is created
[Kurzweil, video about ICT - contrast with Castells saying it’s about role of knowledge as end product rather than means to producing other products]. Accompanied by a rise of “intangible capital” – “capacity to improve the quality of human capital and factors of production”, with observation that economic advantage is no longer tied to natural resources [Mokyr]. Two kinds: investment in production and dissemination of knowledge, and investment in sustaining physical state of human capital. Quantitatively measurable – stock of intangible capital began to outweigh that of tangible capital at the end of the 1960s. [This immediately preceded Daniel Bell in 1972]. Importance of OECD in measuring if categories of knowledge related investment in different countries and sectors. Different structures and investment in the knowledge economy between countries [different forms of capitalism/triple helix configurations], IT Scandinavian countries spending on education, while US spends on industrial investment principally private-sector R&D. Innovation. Knowledge-based economy is not restricted to realm of high technology, but science and technology “tend to be central to the new sectors giving momentum to the upward growth of the economy as a whole of the past few decades”. Hence the central role of the question of science, technology, and research. [Although organisational, practice innovations as important as science and technology, complex relationship between the two]. Distinction between “off-line” formal research, and online learning (learning by doing in practice). Innovation underpins proliferation of new varieties of goods and services, mass customisation [post-modernism – Harvey 1990]. Fordist divisions of labour “reduce the individual scope of activity and, hence, opportunity to learn”. Centrality of innovation in new economy as driver of competitiveness [Porter etc.]. Digital revolutions & centrality of ICT [Castells]. Vastly expanded access to information. In other words knowledge economy trends start a long time ago that gathered momentum recently due to new tech See David 1990 the dynamo on the computer, or 2001 productivity growth prospects in the new economy in historical perspective. Knowledge and information. “Knowledge … empowers its possessors with the capacity for intellectual or physical action” – about cognitive capability. Information is structured after that requires interpretation by people with knowledge. Illustrated by the fact that cost of replicating information is almost nothing, but reproducing knowledge is very expensive and in the basis of new economy. Tacit and codified data: Polanyi 1967. Codified knowledge solves problem of memory but loses some of it [Socrates] – but also creates possibilities “to examine and arrange knowledge in different ways and to isolate, classify and combine different components.” Shift from pre-literate to literate and then post the trip. Knowledge-based activities are about “people, supported by information and communication technologies, interact in concerted efforts to co—produce … noon on each.” [Castells, importance of information technologies as enabler]. Old problems and difficulty of sharing knowledge, overcome by communication. Same laws described here with Rachid and Rachel example governing information interactions applicable to the driving forces for clusters. “knowledge -intensive community” – in this article emphasises scientific community are equally applicable, as alluded to, to business to business communities. Characteristics are: “
1. extensive knowledge creation reproduction,
2. mechanisms forexchanging and disseminating the resulting knowledge
3. and intensive use of new information technologies. Combination of codification and ability to tacit sharing.
[ imagine a matrix between tacit and codified, and mode one and two knowledge]
Individuals who are tapped into this knowledge networks are valuable to other organisations [University/industry synergy]. Importance of individuals with soft skills, as well as knowledge skills to Phillips through learning by doing. Issues – applicability, if IP questions surrounding knowledge economy. Open source example [uses example in contrast to completely competing logic of proprietary IT]. Also mentions peer-to-peer music. Importance of geography reduced that direct face-to-face contact still important. Question of access to information – digital divide is not quite as important as human capital investments in ability to actually use information/generate knowledge. Fragmentation of knowledge – mentions Marshall and “how can one organise and coordinate highly specialised activities within a context marked by extreme social division of labour?” – clusters. finally, can Internet promote uniformity instead of diversity? [Face-to-face cluster interaction important – question of urban planning and public space, whether it promotes difference – social capital or lack of undermining societies. Also, if the benefit of difference discussed by Clare with regard to the fact that unconscious discrimination in organisations promoting uniformity has an actual impact on performance].
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