nep-knm New Economics Papers
on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Economy
Issue of 2017‒11‒05
four papers chosen by
Laura Ştefănescu
Centrul European de Studii Manageriale în Administrarea Afacerilor

  1. Who is Who in Knowledge Economy in Africa? By Simplice Asongu; Vanessa Tchamyou; Paul Acha-Anyi
  2. Influence of Knowledge Management Practices on Company Performance Results in Russian Context By Gavrilova, T.; Alsufiev, A.; Pleshkova, A.
  3. Causes and Effects of Private Property Rights Security By Van Noort, S.
  4. Frontier Knowledge and Scientific Production: Evidence from the Collapse of International Science By Alessandro Iaria; Carlo Schwarz; Fabian Waldinger

  1. By: Simplice Asongu (Yaoundé/Cameroun); Vanessa Tchamyou (Yaoundé/Cameroun); Paul Acha-Anyi (Pretoria/South Africa)
    Abstract: This study assesses the knowledge economy (KE) performance of lagging African countries vis-à-vis their frontier counterparts with regard to the four dimensions of the World Bank’s knowledge economy index (KEI). The empirical exercise is for the period 1996-2010. It consists of first establishing leading nations before suggesting policy initiatives that can be implemented by sampled countries depending on identified gaps that are provided with the sigma convergence estimation approach. The following are established frontier knowledge economy countries. (i) For the most part, North African countries are dominant in education. Tunisia is overwhelmingly dominant in 11 of the 15 years, followed by Libya which is a frontier country in two years while Cape Verde and Egypt lead in a single year each. (ii) With the exception of Morocco that is leading in the year 2009, Seychelles is overwhelmingly dominant in ICT. (iii) South Africa also indomitably leads in terms of innovation. (iv) While Botswana and Mauritius share dominance in institutional regime, economic incentives in terms of private domestic credit are most apparent in Angola (8 years), the Democratic Republic of Congo (3 years) and Tanzania, Sierra Leone and Malawi (each leading in one year).
    Keywords: Knowledge economy; Benchmarks; Policy syndromes; Catch-up; Africa
    JEL: O10 O30 O38 O55 O57
    Date: 2017–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:agd:wpaper:17/043&r=knm
  2. By: Gavrilova, T.; Alsufiev, A.; Pleshkova, A.
    Abstract: This paper is bringing the focus on knowledge management elements and analyses their influence on the performance of the company. Namely knowledge management practices are considered the key element for enhanced innovative performance. The main research method is exploratory factor analysis with preliminary analysis of covariations among variables. Research bases on results of survey conducted among Russian companies during 2017 and intends to reveal interrelationships among KM and Performance constructs that are peculiar for Russian market.
    Keywords: knowledge management, organization performance, KM practices,
    Date: 2017
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sps:wpaper:8598&r=knm
  3. By: Van Noort, S.
    Abstract: Private property rights security is currently seen as central to explaining cross-country differences in economic development. Variation in private property rights security itself is perceived to be best explained by differences in the degree to which the political system is able to constrain the despotic power of state executives. I reassess the existing evidence for these two hypotheses and find that: (1) higher levels and significant changes in private property rights security and constraints on the executive are not correlated with higher levels of income and (changes in) growth rates; (2) the commonly used instrument for constraints on the executive and private property rights security - the natural log of European settler mortality - is invalid because it is associated with current levels of income besides its effect through private property rights security and constraints on the executive; and (3) the regularly cited Korean case is in fact evidence against these hypotheses. I provide explanations for these findings and call for a rethinking of which type of institutions and policies are decisive for growth.
    Keywords: Institutions, Private Property Rights Security, Economic Development, Con- straints on the Executive
    JEL: O11 P16 P51
    Date: 2017–10–23
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:1746&r=knm
  4. By: Alessandro Iaria; Carlo Schwarz; Fabian Waldinger
    Abstract: We show that WWI and the subsequent boycott against Central scientists severely interrupted international scientific cooperation. After 1914, citations to recent research from abroad decreased and paper titles became less similar (evaluated by Latent Semantic Analysis), suggesting a reduction in international knowledge flows. Reduced international scientific cooperation led to a decline in the production of basic science and its application in new technology. Specifically, we compare productivity changes for scientists who relied on frontier research from abroad, to changes for scientists who relied on frontier research from home. After 1914, scientists who relied on frontier research from abroad published fewer papers in top scientific journals, produced less Nobel Prize-nominated research, introduced fewer novel scientific words, and introduced fewer novel words that appeared in the text of subsequent patent grants. The productivity of scientists who relied on top 1% research declined twice as much as the productivity of scientists who relied on top 3% research. Furthermore, highly prolific scientists experienced the starkest absolute productivity declines. This suggests that access to the very best research is key for scientific and technological progress.
    Keywords: frontier knowledge, scientific production, international knowledge flows, WWI
    JEL: O3 N3 N4 O31 O5 N30 N40 J44 I23
    Date: 2017–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1506&r=knm

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