An introduction to the economy of the knowledge society

This introductory article reviews the main themes relating to the development of new knowledge-based economies. After putting their emergence into an historical perspective and proposing a theoretical framework to distinguish knowledge from information, the authors endeavour to grasp what constitutes the specific nature of such economies. They go on to deal with some of the major issues concerning the new skills and abilities required for integration into the knowledge-based economy; the new geography that is taking shape (where physical distance would cease being such a influential constraint); the conditions governing access to the knowledge-based economy, not least for developing countries; the uneven development of knowledge across different sectors of activity; problems concerning intellectual property rights and the privatisation of knowledge; and the matters of confidence, memory, and the fragmentation of knowledge.