tailieunhanh - A Primer on the Knowledge Economy

The analysis assumes that individuals maximize welfare as they conceive it, whether they be selfish, altruistic, loyal, spiteful, or masochistic. Their behavior is forward-looking, and it is also consistent over time. In particu- lar, they try as best they can to anticipate the uncertain consequences of their actions. Forward-looking behavior, however, may still be rooted in the past, for the past can exert a long shadow on attitudes and values. Actions are constrained by income, time, imperfect memory and calculat- ing capacities, and other limited resources, and also by the available oppor- tunities in the economy and elsewhere. These opportunities are largely determined by the private and collective. | Centre for Strategic Economic Studies Foreword This primer is intended as a brief guide to the Knowledge Economy for people in business and government who need a succinct summary of its major features and implications. It has been prepared by Professors John Houghton and Peter Sheehan of Victoria University s Centre for Strategic Economic Research CSES who have drawn on research undertaken at CSES over the last few years on the work of the OECD and on a rapidly growing international literature. It aims to provide a synthesis of this body of work in digestible form. Peter Sheehan Director Centre for Strategic Economic Studies February 2000 Centre for Strategic Economic Studies 2000 Centre for Strategic Economic Studies Victoria University PO Box 14428 Melbourne City MC Victoria Australia 8001 20 Geelong Road Footscray Victoria Australia 3011 Tel. 61 3 9688 4403 Fax 61 3 9688 4577 email i Centre for Strategic Economic Studies Table of Contents Table of The Knowledge Economy. 1 What is the Knowledge Economy .2 Increasing knowledge intensity .2 What s New about the New Economy .10 Information revolution. 10 Flexible organisation. 10 Knowledge skills and learning. 11 Innovation and knowledge networks. 11 Learning organisations and innovation systems. 11 Global competition and production. 12 Strategy and location. 12 Clustering in the Knowledge Economy. 13 Economics of knowledge . 13 Systems of creation production and distribution. 14 Convergence or divergence. 15 Divergence and concentration. 15 What Does It Mean for Australia .16 What Should Be Done to Meet the Challenge .18 Outlines of a response. 19 The need for policy integration. 19 Facing global competition. 19 Competing on knowledge. 19 Global investment and Shifting the composition of the economy. 20 Flexible organisation. 20 Knowledge education and skills. 21 An innovation .