Revolutionary account of the transformative potential of the knowledge economy Adam Smith and Karl Marx recognized that the best way to understand the economy is to study the most advanced practice of production. Today that practice is no longer conventional manufacturing: it is the radically innovative vanguard known as the knowledge economy. In every part of the production system it remains a fringe excluding the vast majority of workers and businesses. This book explores the hidden nature of the knowledge economy and its possible futures. The confinement of the knowledge economy to these insular vanguards has become a driver of economic stagnation and inequality throughout the world. Traditional mass production has stopped working as a shortcut to economic growth. But the alternative—a deepened and socially inclusive form of the knowledge economy—continues to lie beyond reach in even the richest countries. The shape of contemporary politics on both the left and the right reflects a failure to come to terms with this dilemma and to overcome it. Unger explains the knowledge economy in the truncated and confined form that it has today and proposes the way to a knowledge economy for the many: changes not just in economic institutions but also in education, culture, and politics. Just as Smith and Marx did in their time, he uses an understanding of the most advanced practice of production to rethink both economics and the economy as a whole.

This book presents new evidence concerning the influential role of context and institutions on the relations between knowledge, innovation, clusters and learning. From a truly international perspective, the expert contributors capture the most interesting and relevant aspects of knowledge economy. They explore an evolutionary explanation of how culture can play a significant role in learning and the development of skills. Presenting new data and theory developments, this insightful book reveals how changes in the dynamics of knowledge influence the circumstances under which innovation occurs. It also examines cluster development in the knowledge economy, from regional to virtual space. This volume will prove invaluable to academics and researchers who are interested in exploring new ideas surrounding the knowledge economy. Those employed in consultant firms and the public sector, where an understanding of the knowledge economy is important, will also find plenty of relevant information in this enriching compendium.

This book addresses the recent impact of the ‘knowledge-based economy’ as an economic ‘imaginary’ and as a set of real economic developments on education, and especially higher education in Europe, including educational strategies and policies such as those of the Bologna process on a European scale.

"These two volumes analyze Japan from the Knowledge Economy perspective, covering a wide range of sectoral issues in development including the macro economic framework, education and skills training, the national innovation system, science and technology, information and communication technology, and infrastructure. While Volume 1 explores the four pillare of the ""Knowledge for Development"" framework, the second volume presents up-to-date case studies of outstanding Japanese private companies that each characterize different aspects of the Knowledge Economy. By combining economics and business, these volumes allow readers to grasp the full scope of today's knowledge economy."

A study of how patents and citation data can serve empirical research on innovation and technological change.

"These two volumes analyze Japan from the Knowledge Economy perspective, covering a wide range of sectoral issues in development including the macro economic framework, education and skills training, the national innovation system, science and technology, information and communication technology, and infrastructure. While Volume 1 explores the four pillare of the ""Knowledge for Development"" framework, the second volume presents up-to-date case studies of outstanding Japanese private companies that each characterize different aspects of the Knowledge Economy. By combining economics and business, these volumes allow readers to grasp the full scope of today's knowledge economy."

This is the first analysis of professional classes, their differing job control and skill utilization. Professional employees especially face declining job control, diminishing use of skills and increasing barriers to continuing learning. The book is an original guide for further studies on professional classes, job design, and training.