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on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Economy |
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Issue of 2007‒04‒28
thirteen papers chosen by Emanuele Canegrati Catholic University of the Sacred Heart |
| By: | Berliant, Marcus; Fujita, Masahisa |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a micro-model of knowledge creation through the interactions among a group of people. Our model incorporates two key aspects of the cooperative process of knowledge creation: (i) heterogeneity of people in their state of knowledge is essential for successful cooperation in the joint creation of new ideas, while (ii) the very process of cooperative knowledge creation affects the heterogeneity of people through the accumulation of knowledge in common. The model features myopic agents in a pure externality model of interaction. Surprisingly, in the general case for a large set of initial conditions we find that the equilibrium process of knowledge creation converges to the most productive state, where the population splits into smaller groups of optimal size; close interaction takes place within each group only. This optimal size is larger as the heterogeneity of knowledge is more important in the knowledge production process. Equilibrium paths are found analytically, and they are a discontinuous function of initial heterogeneity. |
| Keywords: | knowledge creation; knowledge externalities; dynamic R and D; endogenous agent heterogeneity |
| JEL: | D83 O31 |
| Date: | 2007–03–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:2884&r=knm |
| By: | Quella, Núria |
| Abstract: | In this paper I estimate unobserved labor-generated knowledge spillovers within and between six large macroeconomic sectors covering the US civilian economy from 1948 to 1991 and relate them to observed productivity changes. I construct a series of sectoral knowledge spillover matrices that show the changes in the magnitude and direction of intraand inter-sectoral spillovers for each sector. I show that the productivity slowdown in the US economy of the early seventies is associated with a decline of intra-sectoral spillovers and the emergence of inter-sectoral spillovers. This change coincides with trade taking over manufacturing as the main source and destination of new knowledge flows. The analysis of technology flows, measured as the production and use of patents, corroborates this finding. Furthermore, I also compute the gap between the market, which ignores knowledge spillovers, and the optimal allocation of labor across sectors, and the wedge between market and optimal wage rates by sector. I show that optimal employment in manufactures is 32% higher than the market allocation, and that optimal wages in the overall economy are 31% above market wages. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge spillovers; technology; productivity slowdown. |
| JEL: | O30 J24 D24 O40 |
| Date: | 2007–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:2853&r=knm |
| By: | Gomes, Orlando |
| Abstract: | Two sector growth models, with physical goods and human capital produced under distinct technologies, generally consider a process of knowledge obsolescence / depreciation that is similar to the depreciation process of physical goods. As a consequence, the long term rate of per capita growth of the main economic aggregates is constant over time. This rate can be endogenously determined (in endogenous growth models, where production is subject to constant returns) or it can be the result of exogenous forces, like technological progress or population dynamics (in neoclassical growth theory, where decreasing marginal returns prevail). In this paper, we introduce a new assumption about the generation of knowledge, which involves entropy, i.e., introducing additional knowledge to generate more knowledge becomes counterproductive after a given point. The new assumption is explored in scenarios of neoclassical and endogenous growth and it is able to justify endogenous fluctuations. Entropy in the creation of knowledge will imply that human capital does not grow steadily over time. Instead, cycles of various periodicities are observable for different degrees of entropy. Complete a-periodicity (chaos) is also found for particular values of an entropy parameter. This behaviour of the human capital variable spreads to the whole economy given that this input is used in the production of final goods and, thus, main economic aggregates time paths (i.e., the time paths of physical capital, consumption and output) will also evolve following a cyclical pattern. With this argument, we intend to give support to the view of endogenous business cycles in the growth process, which is alternative to the two mainstream views on business cycles: the RBC theory and the Keynesian interpretation. |
| Keywords: | Growth theory; Endogenous business cycles; Nonlinear dynamics; Entropy; Knowledge |
| JEL: | C61 O41 E32 |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:2843&r=knm |
| By: | Brunner, Daniel; Voigt, Tim |
| Abstract: | In the context of innovation activitties, the process of new product development and their implementation in the internal structure of the organization requires knowledge communication and decision-making on different levels of the cooperative network. The functions of entrepreneurship are not any longer limited to a single firm but are divided up into different parts along the cooperative network. In our paper we address the question how the requiered market knowledge can be perceived and incorporated in the complex structure of cooperative organizations. The methodological approach of the paper is related to the idea of theorizing by meands of case study research. Therefore we introduce a modified concept of the innovation process with six idealized phases. The results are integrated in the framework by the illustration of three selected practical examples of innovation activities carried out by a German cooperative in the past. |
| Keywords: | cooperatice; case study research; innovation process; entrepreneurship; decision-making; |
| JEL: | M13 |
| Date: | 2007–04–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:2892&r=knm |
| By: | Kevin H. O'Rourke; Ahmed S. Rahman; Alan M. Taylor |
| Abstract: | Technological change was unskilled-labor-biased during the early Industrial Revolution of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, but is skill-biased today. This fact is not embedded in extant unified growth models. We develop a model of the transition to sustained economic growth which can endogenously account for both these facts, by allowing the factor bias of technological innovations to reflect the profit-maximising decisions of innovators. Endowments dictated that the initial stages of the Industrial Revolution be unskilled-labor biased. The transition to skill-biased technological change was due to a growth in "Baconian knowledge" and international trade. Simulations show that the model does a good job of tracking reality, at least until the mass education reforms of the late nineteenth century. |
| JEL: | F15 J13 J24 N10 O31 O33 |
| Date: | 2007–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13057&r=knm |
| By: | Petr Mariel (UPV/EHU, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales); Susan Orbe (UPV/EHU, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales); Carlos Rodríguez (UPV/EHU, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales) |
| Abstract: | The present article reexamines some of the issues regarding the Knowledge-Capital Model that encompasses both horizontal and vertical Foreign Direct Investment described in detail in the literature. The empirical support for this model is however a mixture. This article proposes a new way of estimating coefficients by allowing them to vary over time. The estimation results obtained using data from fourteen European countries for the period from 1982 to 2004 confirm that these coefficients cannot be considered constant over time and that the vertical component of the Knowledge-Capital Model is relevant even in the context of European countries with relatively similar endowments. |
| Keywords: | Foreign Direct Investment, Time-varying coefficients |
| JEL: | C14 F21 |
| Date: | 2007–04–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehu:biltok:200703&r=knm |
| By: | Michael Fritsch (University of Jena, School of Busniess and Economics, Max Planck Institute of Economics Jena, and Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin)); Viktor Slavtchev (University of Jena, School of Busniess and Economics) |
| Abstract: | We assess the efficiency of regional innovation systems (RIS) in Germany by means of a knowledge production function. This function relates private sector research and development (R&D) activity in a region to the number of inventions that have been registered by residents of that region. Different measures and estimation approaches lead to rather similar assessments. We find that both spillovers within the private sector as well as from universities and other public research institutions have a positive effect on the efficiency of private sector R&D in the respective region. It is not the mere presence and size of public research institutions, but rather the intensity of interactions between private and public sector R&D that leads to high RIS efficiency. We find that relationship between the diversity of a regions’ industry structure and the efficiency of its innovation system is inversely u-shaped. Regions dominated by large establishments tend to be less efficient than regions with a lower average establishment size. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge, innovation, technical efficiency, spillovers, patents, regional analysis |
| JEL: | O31 O18 R12 |
| Date: | 2007–04–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2007-006&r=knm |
| By: | Schmidt, Tobias |
| Abstract: | In this paper we analyse the decision of firms in the Canadian manufacturing sector to co-operate on innovation projects. Our focus is on the motives behind this decision and the firm characteristics, both general and with respect to innovation activities, which influence the motives for innovation co-operation. Using data from the Canadian Survey of Innovation 2005 we find that the factors influencing the decision to co-operate in order to access external knowledge are very similar to those influencing cost-sharing motives. We also show that public funding leads firms to cooperate in order to access external knowledge and R&D. |
| Keywords: | Innovation Co-operation, Motives for Co-operation, Canadian Survey of Innovation |
| JEL: | L22 O31 O32 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:5506&r=knm |
| By: | Gawande, Kishore; Chen, Derek H. C. |
| Abstract: | The Knowledge Assessment Methodology (KAM) database measures variables that may be used to assess the readiness of countries for the knowledge economy and has many policy uses. Formal analysis using KAM data is faced with the problem of which variables to choose and why. Rather than make these decisions in an ad hoc manner, the authors recommend factor-analytic methods to distill the information contained in the many KAM variables into a smaller set of " factors. " Their main objective is to quantify the factors for each country, and to do so in a way that allows comparisons of the factor scores over time. The authors investigate both principal components as well as true factor analytic methods, and emphasize simple structures that help provide a clear political-economic meaning of the factors, but also allow comparisons over time. |
| Keywords: | Statistical & Mathematical Sciences,Econometrics,Economic Theory & Research,Education for Development (superceded),Innovation |
| Date: | 2007–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4216&r=knm |
| By: | Zevenbergen, Jaap; Holden, Stein; Ali, Daniel Ayalew; Deininger, Klaus |
| Abstract: | Although many African countries have recently adopted highly innovative and pro-poor land laws, lack of implementation thwarts their potentially far-reaching impact on productivity, poverty reduction, and governance. The authors use a representative household survey from Ethiopia where, over a short period, certificates to more than 20 million plots were issued to describe the certification process, explore its incidence and preliminary impact, and quantify the costs. While this provides many suggestions to ensure sustainability and enhance impact, Ethiopia ' s highly cost-effective first-time registration process provides important lessons. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Knowledge & Information Systems,Rural Development Knowledge & Information Systems,Common Property Resource Development,Land Use and Policies,Municipal Housing and Land |
| Date: | 2007–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4218&r=knm |
| By: | Christian Belzil (GATE - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - [CNRS : UMR5824] - [Université Lumière - Lyon II] - [Ecole Normale Supérieure Lettres et Sciences Humaines]) |
| Abstract: | This papers contains a survey of the recent literature devoted to the returns to schooling within a dynamic structural framework. I present a historical perspective on the evolution of the literature, from early static models set in a selectivity framework (Willis and Rosen, 1979) to the recent literature, stimulated by Keane and Wolpin (1997), and which uses stochastic dynamic programming techniques. After reviewing the literature thoroughly, I compare the structural approach with the IV (experimental) approach. I present their commonalities and I also discuss their fundamental di8erences. To get an order of magnitude, most structural estimates reported for the US range between 4% and 7% per year. On the other hand, IV estimates between 10% and 15% per year are often reported. The discrepancy prevails even when comparable (if not identical) data sets are used. The discussion is focussed on understanding this divergence. The distinction between static and dynamic model specifications is a recurrent theme in the analysis. I argue that the distinction between the IV approach and the structural approach may be coined in terms of a trade o8 between behavioral and statistical assumptions. For this reason, and unless one has very specific knowledge of the true data generating process, it is neither possible, nor sensible, to claim which approach to estimation is more flexible. More precisely, I show that structural and IV approaches differ mainly at the level of i) the compatibility of the underlying models with truly dynamic behavior, ii) the role of heterogeneity in ability and tastes, iii) the consideration of post-schooling opportunities, and (iv) the specification (and interpretation) of the Mincer wage equation. |
| Keywords: | ability bias ; dynamic self-selection ; human capital ; IV estimations ; natural experiments ; returns to education |
| Date: | 2007–04–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:papers:halshs-00142538_v1&r=knm |
| By: | Blind, Knut; Cremers, Katrin; Mueller, Elisabeth |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses whether strategic motives for patenting influence the characteristics of companies’ patent portfolios. We use the number of citations and oppositions to represent these characteristics. The investigation is based on survey and patent data from German companies. We find clear evidence that the companies’ patenting strategies explain the characteristics of their patent portfolios. First, companies using patents to protect their technological knowledge base receive a higher number of citations for their patents. Second, the motive of offensive – but not of defensive – blocking is related to a higher incidence of oppositions, whereas companies using patents as bartering chips in collaborations receive fewer oppositions to their patents. |
| Keywords: | strategic patenting, patent portfolio characteristics |
| JEL: | O32 O34 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:5501&r=knm |
| By: | Rémy Herrera (Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne) |
| Abstract: | This working paper dealing with the right to education is at the origin of a written statement presented by the Centre Europe Tiers-Monde (CETIM) during the March 2007 4th session of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations Organization in Geneva (item 2 : implementation of the General Assembly Resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006, symbol : A/HRC/4/NGO/18). Education is one of the keys to successful development strategies and a means of realizing the objectives of socialization, fulfillment of the human person and equality. The principles that should underpin its policies are its public character, its universality and its cost-free access at all levels. It is a question of building a world based on the recognition of the non-commercial status of education, of scientific knowledge and of cultural productions. |
| Keywords: | Education, public service, development. |
| JEL: | H44 I21 I28 O15 |
| Date: | 2007–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mse:cesdoc:r07018&r=knm |