nep-knm New Economics Papers
on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Economy
Issue of 2023‒11‒27
four papers chosen by
Laura Nicola-Gavrila, Centrul European de Studii Manageriale în Administrarea Afacerilor


  1. Knowledge spillovers from clean and emerging technologies in the UK By Ralf Martin; Dennis Verhoeven
  2. Kuwait’s readiness for the knowledge-based economy: an exploratory study By Alajmi, Bibi A.
  3. Collaborative work, team boundaries, and workspace design: the proximity-privacy paradox in an open-plan office environment By Raewyn Hills; Deborah Levy; Barbara Plester
  4. Knowledge spillovers from clean innovation. A tradeoff between growth and climate? By Ralf Martin; Dennis Verhoeven

  1. By: Ralf Martin; Dennis Verhoeven
    Abstract: The UK government has committed to increase R&D support for clean technologies in an effort to meet its net-zero target by 2050. The opportunity cost of such programs crucially depends on the value of knowledge spillovers that accrue from clean relative to other (emerging) technologies. Using patent information to measure the value of direct and indirect knowledge spillovers, we derive estimates for the expected economic returns of subsiding a particular technology field. Our method allows comparing fields by the returns a hypothetical additional subsidy would have generated within the UK or globally. Clean technologies are top-ranked in terms of within-UK returns, with Tidal and Offshore Wind showing particularly high returns. In terms of global returns, emerging technologies such as Wireless, as well as Electrical Engineering outperform Clean by a small margin. We also find that cross-border knowledge spillovers are important for all technology fields, with global return rates over ten times larger than within-UK ones. In sum, our results suggest that the opportunity cost of R&D support programs for clean innovation in the UK is low at worst.
    Keywords: innovation, knowledge spillovers, clean technology, innovation policy, patent data, Productivity, Productivity
    Date: 2022–12–15
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:poidwp:053&r=knm
  2. By: Alajmi, Bibi A.
    Abstract: The small city-state of Kuwait has undergone marked change over the last century. However, despite the significant transformations within its political economy, Kuwait’s socioeconomic needs require attention. This is essential, considering Kuwait’s current attempt to transform into a knowledge-based economy (KBE), a central component of Kuwait’s Vision 2035 and at the top of the country’s policy agenda. Kuwait’s attempt to diversify its resources requires significant reform in KBE’s four main pillars: effective investment in education, constructing robust and innovative tertiary sector capabilities, modernising the information technology infrastructure, and having an economic environment that is conducive to maximum development. And while Kuwait increasingly invests in ICT infrastructure and a welcoming economic environment, education and innovation seem to lag. This research aims to address the increased demand for academically based explorations of Kuwait’s attempts to transfer to a knowledge-based economy and present a comprehensive analysis of Kuwait’s Vision 2035, with emphasis on how the country aims to develop its education and innovation pillars to aid diversification efforts. By involving the relevant participants (e.g., government ministries and higher education institutions), this research seeks to inform policy debates by proposing actionable policies targeting education and innovation and, thus, defines concrete steps to strengthen the KBE in Kuwait.
    JEL: J1
    Date: 2023–11–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:120624&r=knm
  3. By: Raewyn Hills; Deborah Levy; Barbara Plester
    Abstract: Workplace collaboration, interdependent work, is an intellectually intense and highly social endeavor suggesting that some collaborative activities are more effective face-to-face ‘in person’, within the office environment. To foster and enhance collaborative work, organisations have focused their efforts on creating collaborative workplaces, with the expectation that workplace management models combined with design features will encourage employees to build relationships and share their knowledge and expertise. Utilising team boundary theory the study looks at the paradox between proximity, the degree of physical closeness between employees and teams, and their need for privacy in an open-plan office that operates a combination workplace management strategy – allocated desks and hot-desking. The results reveal that boundary behaviours within-teams and across the six teams in the one business unit studied varied. The team with a highly specialised knowledge and skill base, under constant pressure to mitigate information leakage in their business dealings, relied on within-team collaboration. They preferred to work together from clustered banks of allocated workstations in an area of the office that they considered to be ‘theirs’. The hot-desking arrangements for the three teams that had a shared knowledge base and complicated skill set did encourage knowledge sharing, mainly through brief interactions and impacted their perceptions of who is in the ‘team’. The results also highlight design features that make workspace fit-for-purpose and those that create barriers to collaboration.
    Keywords: open-plan offices; Privacy; proximity; team boundaries
    JEL: R3
    Date: 2023–01–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2023_337&r=knm
  4. By: Ralf Martin; Dennis Verhoeven
    Abstract: Innovation policy faces a tradeoff between growth and climate objectives when the knowledge spillover externality from clean innovation is low compared to other sectors. To make such a comparison, we use patent data to estimate field-specific spillover returns generated by R&D support. Supporting Clean presents itself as a win-win opportunity, yielding global returns one-eighth higher than those of an untargeted policy. Nevertheless, only a modest portion of the returns stays within country borders, raising the question of whether national interests distort efficient allocation. Our policy simulations underscore the benefits of supranational coordination in clean innovation policy, potentially boosting returns by approximately 25% for the EU and over 60% globally. Moreover, the EU benefits strongly from US Clean innovation spillovers, impacting the debate on the Inflation Reduction Act. Overall, we identify no explicit innovation policy tradeoff in tackling the twin challenges of economic growth and climate change but emphasize the necessity for international cooperation.
    Keywords: innovation, knowledge spillovers, clean technology, innovation policy, green transition, net-zero, patent data, Economic geography, Green Growth, Productivity, Technological change
    Date: 2023–07–12
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1933&r=knm

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