A rigorous, pathbreaking analysis demonstrating that a country's prosperity is directly related in the long run to the skills of its population. In this book Eric Hanushek and Ludger Woessmann make a simple, central claim, developed with rigorous theoretical and empirical support: knowledge is the key to a country's development. Of course, every country acknowledges the importance of developing human capital, but Hanushek and Woessmann argue that message has become distorted, with politicians and researchers concentrating not on valued skills but on proxies for them. The common focus is on school attainment, although time in school provides a very misleading picture of how skills enter into development. Hanushek and Woessmann contend that the cognitive skills of the population—which they term the “knowledge capital” of a nation—are essential to long-run prosperity. Hanushek and Woessmann subject their hypotheses about the relationship between cognitive skills (as consistently measured by international student assessments) and economic growth to a series of tests, including alternate specifications, different subsets of countries, and econometric analysis of causal interpretations. They find that their main results are remarkably robust, and equally applicable to developing and developed countries. They demonstrate, for example, that the “Latin American growth puzzle” and the “East Asian miracle” can be explained by these regions' knowledge capital. Turning to the policy implications of their argument, they call for an education system that develops effective accountability, promotes choice and competition, and provides direct rewards for good performance.
Today, universities around the world find themselves going beyond the traditional roles of research and teaching to drive the development of local economies through collaborations with industry. At a time when regions with universities are seeking best practices among their peers, Shiri M. Breznitz argues against the notion that one university's successful technology transfer model can be easily transported to another. Rather, the impact that a university can have on its local economy must be understood in terms of its idiosyncratic internal mechanisms, as well as the state and regional markets within which it operates. To illustrate her argument, Breznitz undertakes a comparative analysis of two universities, Yale and Cambridge, and the different outcomes of their attempts at technology commercialization in biotech. By contrasting these two universities—their unique policies, organizational structure, institutional culture, and location within distinct national polities—she makes a powerful case for the idea that technology transfer is dependent on highly variable historical and environmental factors. Breznitz highlights key features to weigh and engage in developing future university and economic development policies that are tailor-made for their contexts.
The most important issue for development centres on the debate about the centrality of knowledge, technology and innovation to the process of economic development. While this much is broadly agreed, what is at issue is the precise mechanics of overcoming economic development challenges in different contexts. At the heart of it all is about how economies at different levels deploy the unending streams of information and knowledge to developmental ends. In time, the notion of income convergence between the poorer South and the wealthy North has proved a mirage, while a new economic divide has in fact occurred within the South itself, and as well, between regions and within regions. The debate relating to latecomers is thus framed in discussions about regions and countries that arrive late to mastering industrialization in achieving economic prosperity through the use of knowledge. In other words, a new divide has emerged among the latecomers themselves, and with it, greater conceptual complexity in the ways of our understanding of the divergent ways of economic development. We have thus separated "fast followers" and new "late comers". This book enters this debate acutely aware of the complexity of this process. The authors argue that economic development is largely driven by innovation, concentrating on the dynamics of process, product and organizational changes and how they are embedded within specific and varied contextual institutions.
The Economics of Education: A Comprehensive Overview, Second Edition, offers a comprehensive and current overview of the field of that is broadly accessible economists, researchers and students. This new edition revises the original 50 authoritative articles and adds Developed (US and European) and Developing Country perspectives, reflecting the differences in institutional structures that help to shape teacher labor markets and the effect of competition on student outcomes.
This book presents an entirely new approach to knowledge, creativity and social organisation. The first part of the book provides a trenchant critique of current globalisation, of multinational corporations, the WTO, and intellectual property rights. The rest of the book outlines an alternative globalisation based on inclusion, democratic participation, and equality. The role of the universities in this process is given special attention. The alternative globalisation is still based on the market economy but not necessarily one in which the sole objective of the corporations is to maximise profits. The book is a must-read for all economists, including those who are satisfied with the current state of the subject. The analyses of this volume of outstanding papers edited by Sacchetti and Sugden are fresh, sober and entirely convincing. Ajit Singh, University of Cambridge, UK It is arguable that at the root of the current global crisis lies the ferocious attack on critical thinking indeed freedom of thought that has taken place over the past 30 years or so. The editors of this volume are among the minority voices that kept thinking outside the box and voicing their views during this period. Their present volume offers fascinating readings on diverse issues ranging from uneven development, through university and art management, to motivation, capabilities and democratic governance, as they relate to knowledge and learning. It is hoped that the book will receive the attention it deserves and that more such voices will now be raised and heard. Christos Pitelis, University of Cambridge, UK While the relevance of knowledge in economic development represents a consolidated result, this volume takes some important steps forward in new directions. Highly valuable is the attempt to integrate the study of knowledge production, with its potential for improved creativity, whose expression is now dependent on the social structure and is not merely exogenous any more. The focus on heterodox approaches and on non-traditional organisational and proprietary forms is particularly coherent with both the theoretical premises of the volume and the expected evolution of economies. Carlo Borzaga, University of Trento, Italy This is a collection of essays which escapes the confines of mainstream economics, raising fundamental questions of the role of academics in policy making. It requires the reader to imagine different worlds to think beyond present realities; a book striving to deal with important issues, not sliding over them to make cheap points. A scholarly work; demanding, in places difficult, but worth persevering with. Should be read by everyone interested in a different way forward for economic development in a global world. Keith Cowling, University of Warwick, UK This innovative book offers a critical perspective on the state of the current global economy, making sense of knowledge-related issues by critically assessing existing institutional choices, as well as pointing to new ways forward. The pioneering chapters reposition knowledge in a number of economic debates including regional development, property rights, social enterprises, corporate governance, the management of universities, and the role of creative activities. They explore the possibility of an institutional dynamism that impacts not only on the characteristics of localities and their place in a hierarchical and ordered system of relationships, but on the nature of the system itself. Conclusions point at the individual and collective dimensions of the knowledge discovery process, suggesting a renewed approach to the assessment of economic choices. This insightful book offers an original perspective on knowledge-related issues and constitutes a valuable read for academics and postgraduate students in international business and economic competitiveness, as well practitioners and policymakers who are interested in alternative analyses and methods for economic develop
The Age of Discontinuity: Guidelines to Our Changing Society describes the discontinuities that are changing the structure and the meaning of economy, politics, and society. Major discontinuities exist in four areas: the knowledge technologies; changes in the world's economy; a society of organizations; and the knowledge society. This book is organized into four parts encompassing 17 chapters. Each part represents the four areas of discontinuities. Part I highlights the growth in major industries and businesses, along with economic policies related to tax incentives. Part II looks into the status of the global economy, the disparity between the rich and poor countries, and the concepts and application of the economic theory demonstrating a closed economy controlled from within by national, monetary, credit, and tax policies. Part III examines the changes in the political matrix of social and economic life. This part deals particularly with the theory of pluralism and organizations, as well as the creation of socio-political reality. Part IV focuses on the changes in the cost center and the crucial resource of the economy. Knowledge changes involve changes in labor forces and work. This book will prove useful to economists, public servants, sociologists, and researchers.
The field of Information Science is intertwined with the complexity present in society. The study object in this field refers to data, information, and knowledge generated, mediated, and appropriated by different individuals in the most diverse human activities. Thus, discussing complex issues that are intertwined with information management, knowledge management, innovation management, organizational intelligence, information mediation, information appropriation, and information literacy is essential for understanding the future perspectives of digital humanity. Role of Information Science in a Complex Society presents discussions that can be applied to local, regional, and national policies aimed at economic and social development and supports innovative actions in economic segments that depend on innovation. Highlighting topics that include information literacy, ethics, knowledge management, and organizational learning, this book is an ideal reference source for academicians, professionals, researchers, and students, as well as entrepreneurs from different economic segments.
Arising from recent developments at the international level, many developing countries, indigenous peoples and local communities are considering using geographical indications (GIs) to protect traditional knowledge, and to promote trade and overall economic development. Despite the considerable enthusiasm over GIs in diverse quarters, there is an appreciable lack of research on how far and in what context GIs can be used as a protection model for traditional knowledge-based resources. This book critically examines the potential uses of geographical indications as models for protecting traditional knowledge-based products and resources in national and international intellectual property legal frameworks. By analysing the reception towards GIs from developing countries and advocates of development in the various legal and non-legal regimes (including the World Trade Organization, World Intellectual Property Organization, and the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Food and Agricultural Organization), the book evaluates the development potential of GIs in relation to ensuing changes in international intellectual property law in accommodating traditional knowledge. Teshager W. Dagne argues for a degree of balance in the approach to the implementation of global intellectual property rights in a manner that gives developing countries an opportunity to protect traditional knowledge-based products. The book will be of great interest and use to scholars and students of intellectual property law, public international law, traditional knowledge, and global governance.
