With the buzzwords of knowledge-based economy and knowledge-driven economy, policy-makers, as well as journalists and management consultants, are pushing forward a vision of change that transforms the way advanced economies work. Yet little is understood about how the knowledge-based economy differs from the old, traditional economy. It is generally agreed that the phenomenon has grown out of the branch of economic thought known as new growth theory.

Digesting up-to-date thinking in economics, management, innovation studies and economic geography, this significant volume provides an account of these developments and how they have transformed advanced economies.