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Evolution of the Knowledge Economy: a Historical Perspective with an Application to the Case of Europe

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“The empires of the future are the empires of the mind.”

Sir Winston Churchill

Speech at Harvard, 6 September 1943, in Onwards to Victory (1944)

Abstract

The goal of the article is to explore the evolution of original concept of knowledge economy based on science intensive production sectors toward service type economies which significantly changed the role of scientific research and technological innovation for economic growth. The paper argues that this transition is due not only to the structural changes in global production, but the theoretical evolution and paradigmatic shift of the concept of “knowledge economy” in general and “knowledge” in particular has played a significant role. The paper examines the different interpretation of knowledge within new types of intangible economies (e.g., new/Internet, weightless, service, creative, cultural economies) where knowledge is perceived to be generated not as a product of scientific research but as a service or creative activity and critically examined the role of scientific research in a service led knowledge economy. Additionally, the paper argue how these phenomena, which marked the global economy in the last decades, enable the transition of the standard concept of knowledge economy originated from industrial production and manufacturing to a knowledge economy equalized with various types of expanding intangible economies, primarily those based on service and creative industries.

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Notes

  1. Based on Eurostat http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tec00114&plugin=1

  2. Eurostat table code: earn_ses_pub1s

  3. Eurostat table code: htec_kia_emp2

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Social Sciences “Ivo Pilar”, Marulićev trg 19, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Jadranka Švarc

  2. Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, J. F. Kennedy square 6, 10 000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Marina Dabić

  3. Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University, Burton Street, NG1 4BU, Nottingham, UK

    Marina Dabić

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  1. Jadranka Švarc
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  2. Marina Dabić
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Correspondence to Jadranka Švarc.

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Švarc, J., Dabić, M. Evolution of the Knowledge Economy: a Historical Perspective with an Application to the Case of Europe. J Knowl Econ 8, 159–176 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-015-0267-2

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