Routledge Handbook of the Economics of Knowledge

The Routledge Handbook of the Economics of Knowledge provides a comprehensive framework to integrate the advancements over the last 20 years in the analysis of technological knowledge as an economic good, and in the static and dynamic characteristics of its generation process.

There is a growing consensus in the field of economics that knowledge, technological knowledge in particular, is one of the most relevant resources of wealth, yet it is one of the most difficult and complex activities to understand or even to conceptualize. The economics of knowledge is an emerging field that explores the generation, exploitation, and dissemination of technological knowledge. Technological knowledge cannot any longer be regarded as a homogenous good that stems from standardized generation processes. Quite the opposite, technological knowledge appears more and more to be a basket of heterogeneous items, resources, and even experiences. All of these sources, which are both internal and external to the firm, are complementary, as is the interplay between a bottom-up and top-down generation processes. In this context, the interactions between the public research system, private research laboratories, and various networks of learning processes, within and among firms, play a major role in the creation of technological knowledge.

In this Handbook special attention is given to the relationship among technological knowledge and both upstream scientific knowledge and related downstream resources. By addressing the antecedents and consequences of technological knowledge from both an upstream and downstream perspective, this Handbook will become an indispensable tool for scholars and practitioners aiming to master the generation and the use of technological knowledge.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Yet another measure of ignorance
Chapter 2 Innovation and creativity: a slogan, nothing but a slogan
Chapter 3 From knowledge to innovation: the role of knowledge spillover entrepreneurship
Chapter 4 Innovation strategies combining internal and external knowledge
Chapter 5 Networks of knowledge: an appraisal of research themes, findings and implications
Chapter 6 Academic networks and the diffusion of knowledge
Chapter 7 Transversal or linear? Knowledge externalities and the complexity of knowledge interactions
Chapter 8 Knowledge cumulability and path dependence in innovation persistence
Chapter 9 Social responsibility and the knowledge production function of higher education: a review of the literature
Chapter 10 An alternative to the economic value of knowledge
Chapter 11 The international dissemination of technological knowledge
Chapter 12 The economic nature of knowledge embodied in standards for technology-based industries
Chapter 13 Towards non-exclusive intellectual property rights
Chapter 14 The dynamics of knowledge governance