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on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Economy |
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Issue of 2026–01–12
seven papers chosen by Laura Nicola-Gavrila, Centrul European de Studii Manageriale în Administrarea Afacerilor |
| By: | Julius Koschnick |
| Abstract: | What was the origin of modern economic growth? Joel Mokyr has argued that self-sustained modern economic growth originated from a feedback loop between propositional (theoretical) and prescriptive (applied) knowledge, which turned positive in the eighteenth century during the "Industrial Enlightenment". While influential, this thesis has never been directly tested. This paper provides the first quantitative evidence by estimating the impact of knowledge spillovers between propositional and prescriptive knowledge on innovation in England, 1600-1800. For this, it introduces two new text-based measures for 1) the innovativeness of publications and 2) knowledge spillovers. The paper finds strong evidence that a feedback loop between propositional and prescriptive knowledge became positive during the second half of the eighteenth century. It also documents that this process had positive effects on the real economy as measured through patents. Overall, the findings provide empirical support for Mokyr's original hypothesis. |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2512.16587 |
| By: | Lapo Santarlasci; Armando Rungi; Loredana Fattorini; Nestor Maslej |
| Abstract: | Artificial intelligence has become a key arena of global technological competition and a central concern for Europe's quest for technological sovereignty. This paper analyzes global AI patenting from 2010 to 2023 to assess Europe's position in an increasingly bipolar innovation landscape dominated by the United States and China. Using linked patent, firm, ownership, and citation data, we examine the geography, specialization, and international diffusion of AI innovation. We find a highly concentrated patent landscape: China leads in patent volumes, while the United States dominates in citation impact and technological influence. Europe accounts for a limited share of AI patents but exhibits signals of relatively high patent quality. Technological proximity reveals global convergence toward U.S. innovation trajectories, with Europe remaining fragmented rather than forming an autonomous pole. Gravity-model estimates show that cross-border AI knowledge flows are driven primarily by technological capability and specialization, while geographic and institutional factors play a secondary role. EU membership does not significantly enhance intra-European knowledge diffusion, suggesting that technological capacity, rather than political integration, underpins participation in global AI innovation networks. |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2512.19569 |
| By: | Stefan Leknes (Statistics Norway); Jorn Rattso (Department of Economics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology); Hildegunn E Stokke (Department of Economics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology) |
| Abstract: | Intangible capital, an asset class central to the knowledge economy, has been shown to contribute substantially to productivity growth. However, the importance for agglomeration economies has received limited attention. We examine how the agglomeration effect varies with industries’ intensity of intangible capital, combining international measures of industry-level intangible capital with rich Norwegian administrative employer–employee data. The analysis addresses methodological challenges related to endogenous intangible investment, unobserved worker characteristics, and correlation between worker moves and firm quality. We find that at mean intangible intensity, the elasticity of wages with respect to city size is 0.026, with each standard-deviation increase in intangible intensity raising the elasticity by 0.004. Dynamic wage returns to city-specific experience are also significantly higher in intangible-intensive industries. Employing the AKM framework and a complementary firm- based measure of local productivity, we show that our main results are robust to potential hierarchy effects arising from worker mobility. Moreover, we document that positive selection on unobserved ability into large cities is driven primarily by workers employed in intangible-intensive industries, irrespective of education level. We further document heterogeneity across intangible components, showing that agglomeration elasticities are strong for industries intensive in software and databases, and economic competencies. Taken together, these findings highlight the importance of intangible capital investments in shaping urban wage premia. |
| Keywords: | Agglomeration economies, knowledge spillover, intangible capital, AKM-model, sorting, worker experience |
| JEL: | J24 J31 J61 R12 R23 |
| Date: | 2025–12–19 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nst:samfok:20425 |
| By: | Chen, Jian; Feng, Hongli; Hoffman, Elizabeth; Seaberg, Luke |
| Abstract: | In the United States, utility-scale solar initiatives face growing local resistance despite their cost-competitiveness and potential in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. This study investigates the marginal effects of knowledge levels related to solar, information treatments, and their interconnections with peoples’ attitudes toward utility-scale solar energy systems and explores some key drivers of the different knowledge levels. We designed and implemented a survey targeting both public officials and the general population in the U.S. state of Iowa. Among 862 respondents, 79.8% self-reported having a low level of knowledge about solar energy. Additionally, 77.7% expressed at least moderate support for hosting such projects in their community. Our empirical results suggest that individuals with a higher level of knowledge of utility-scale solar energy tend to express a higher degree of support for adopting such projects within their community. Individuals’ attitudes are more responsive to the negative information treatment. Notably, there are significant differences between public officials and the general population in attitudes and responsiveness to information treatments. We also find that landowners’ support for utility-scale solar projects is unlikely to change regardless of knowledge levels, while non-landowners show increased support with higher levels of knowledge. This study provides insights for developing context-specific outreach programs to enhance public awareness and support for utility-scale solar projects and promote future solar development. |
| Keywords: | Resource/Energy Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea25:361226 |
| By: | Georgios A. Tritsaris |
| Abstract: | The Fourth Industrial Revolution commonly refers to the accelerating technological transformation that has been taking place in the 21st century. Economic growth theories which treat the accumulation of knowledge and its effect on production endogenously remain relevant, yet they have been evolving to explain how the current wave of advancements in automation and artificial intelligence (AI) technology will affect productivity and different occupations. The work contributes to current economic discourse by developing an analytical task-based framework that endogenously integrates knowledge accumulation with frictions that describe technological lock-in and the burden of knowledge generation and validation. The interaction between production (or automation) and growth (or knowledge accumulation) is also described explicitly. To study how automation and AI shape economic outcomes, I rely on high-throughput calculations of the developed model. The effect of the model's structural parameters on key variables such as the production output, wages, and labor shares of output is quantified, and possible intervention strategies are briefly discussed. An important result is that wages and labor shares are not directly linked, instead they can be influenced independently through distinct policy levers. |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2512.16261 |
| By: | Nadja Dwenger; Anna Gumpert |
| Abstract: | An effective public administration is essential for state capacity and economic prosperity. We provide the first causal evidence on the short and long-term impact of secondments, a key instrument for building administrative capacity. Our context is the large-scale capacity building in the East German tax administration after reunification, which was designed and implemented in a highly decentralized way. We exploit this unique institutional feature for identification, drawing on a major, novel data collection. Secondments significantly increased short-term output quantity with returns on investment of 1.5–3.1 and had persistent positive effects on long-term output quality. Effect heterogeneity suggests successful transfer of tacit knowledge as the main mechanism behind successful capacity building. Exploiting the richness of our data, we uncover three key design features of effective capacity building: support from offices with strong administrative traditions, intermediate secondment durations, and both task-specific and broad measures. |
| Keywords: | administrative capacity, public administration, capacity-building, secondments, tax administration, knowledge transfer, German reunification |
| JEL: | D73 H83 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12345 |
| By: | Deka, Anubrata; Meerza, Syed Imran Ali; Yiannaka, Amalia |
| Abstract: | We assess consumer preferences and attitudes toward CRISPR applications and estimate consumer willingness to pay for a food product developed using CRISPR technology to enhance food safety and confer health benefits. Within this context, we analyze the impact of information provision on perceptions, attitudes and willingness to pay for gene-edited wheat flour with reduced acrylamide levels. Specifically, we consider the potential effect of both the nature of information provided (whether it emphasizes the differences between GM and CRISPR technology or not) and the delivery format (text versus video) used to present content-equivalent information. Among the factors we investigate as potentially influencing consumer preferences and WTP are consumers’subjective and objective knowledge of CRISPR technology, its perceived benefits and risks as well as trust in various entities to accurately inform and develop safe and beneficial gene editing agri-food technologies. Our results show that although consumers were willing to pay a positive amount for CRISPR gene-editing technology, their willingness to pay was lower compared to what they were willing to pay for the organic and conventional technology. Results also show that WTP for CRISPR gene-editing technology and reduced acrylamide levels were highest for participants with high subjective and objective knowledge. In contrast, variations in informational content and delivery modality do not have a statistically significant effect on consumer valuation of CRISPR gene-edited wheat flour. |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea25:360601 |