Towards A European Knowledge Based Economy The Evolutionary Case Of Finland

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: 1,0, University of Münster (Political Science), course: European Economic Policies, 19 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Throughout the course of the 1990s, Finland underwent a tremendous economic transformation unrivaled by any other European or OECD country in the post-World War II era. In less than a decade Finland went from being perhaps one of the least knowledge-based economies to becoming the sole most embraced one, subsequently heralding it to be a model example of not only Europe’s but the world’s ‘new economy’. During the twentieth-first century, Finland has three times to date ranked number one in the World’s Economic Forum’s (WEF) Competitiveness Index, alongside achieving an astonishing close second to Sweden in the World Bank’s Knowledge Economic Index (KEI). On these grounds, Finland’s recent development towards a knowledge-based economy has indeed captured the international spotlight, and justly the attention of economic policy-makers across the world. To this day in age, knowledge has irrefutably become the driving force behind economic growth and social development, with exogenous factors particularly that of globalization playing enormous roles in the acceleration of the diffusion and the application of knowledge. Perhaps, not better put then in the trivial words of Bill Clinton “in today’s knowledge-based economy, what you earn depends on what you learn,”5such words do certainly substantiate the importance of knowledge and innovation in today’s ‘new economy’. Thus is seems, successful economies and societies will be those who can adapt to the rapid demands of globalization, where the need of countries to be more flexible, creative, innovative, and welcoming to the winds of change, have been more critical than it has ever been before. Advancement in information and communication technologies (ICTs) has often been seen as one method of achieving a more knowledge-based economy, as development in ICTs seem to provide new opportunities in product specialization, improved productivity, and sustainable growth.

Finland has transformed itself from an agriculture-based economy into one of the leading knowledge-based economies. Aiming to provide valuable lessons for other countries, the book presents key policies, elements, initiatives and decisions behind Finland s transformation into the Knowledge Economy of today.

Across Western Europe, the emphasis has shifted from physical manufacturing to the development of ideas, new products and creative processes. This has become known as the knowledge economy. While much has been written about this concept, so far there has been little focus on the role of the city. Bringing together comparative case studies from Amsterdam, Dortmund, Eindhoven, Helsinki, Manchester, Munich, Münster, Rotterdam and Zaragoza, this volume examines the cities' roles, as well as how the knowledge economy affects urban management and policies. In doing so, it demonstrates that the knowledge economy is a trend that affects every city, but in different ways depending on the specific local situation. It describes a number of policy options that can be applied to improve cities' positions in this new environment.

Evolutionary economics focuses on the theory of the firm, organizational behavior and the role of technological change to reassess in a non-orthodox way the factors which motivate firms and individuals on a national and international level. With the heightened level of economic interaction, modern socio-economies are increasingly being shaped by their trade patterns and their innovation activities. In recent years it has become equally clear that standard neo-classical and fashionable "public choice" approaches to trade and economic growth are incapable of explaining the current "drift" of capitalist economies, or of guiding, in any practical way, the formulation of either publication innovation and trade policies or corporate strategies. The evolutionary approach is gaining currency amongst academics in business and management studies, as it embraces political and philosophical debates about the economy. This text brings together leading authorities in the field to examine and explain in a lucid, clear andauthoritative way the changing nature of relations within and between national economies.

This book addresses how economic spaces dynamically change within the context of the global knowledge-based economy. Specifically, it centers the discussion on integrated views of understanding and conceptualizing dynamic changes of global economy under the global megatrends of globalization, knowledge-based economy, information society, service world, climate change, and population aging. Focusing on East Asia, especially on Korea, it deals with case studies regarding the processes and patterns of these global dynamics, looking at economic spaces of various spatial scales and types of economic actors. This book develops a theoretical model for understanding and analysing the dynamics of economic spaces that are being reshaped within the larger global economy. It also emphasizes the analysis of empirical studies at the level of firm, region, and state by considering an evolutionary perspective over time. In developing its theoretical framework, this book examines regional resilience, intangible assets, service innovation, path dependence, and other notions related to the evolution of economic spaces, and incorporates these elements into real-world case studies. The integrated theoretical framework examined here contributes a new perspective on spatial disparities in the global economy. An integral model of service innovation; the integration of path dependence and regional resilience; the interaction between firm and region for the accumulation of intangible assets; and the roles of governments and global firms: these are all essential to understanding the dynamics of economic spaces in East Asia. The theoretical model and case studies in this book suggest policy implications for developing countries, especially in the Asian and African regions, with regard to regional development and innovation policies.

Fiorenza Belussi, Giorgio Gottardi, and Enzo Rullani This volume collects some papers presented at the Vicenza conference "The Future of Districts", held in June 1999, organised by the Department of Technology and Management of Industrial Systems of the Faculty of Engineering of Padua University, with the collaboration of several engineers, industrial economists, and experts in the issue of technology management. This was the starting point of a long-lasting and painful colIective discussion, the results of which are documented here, during many meetings of this "itinerant" group, including the workshop in Padua, organised by Professor Luciano Pilotti and held in May 2001, "Systems, governance & knowledge within firm networks" at the Department of Economics of the University of Padua, and the recent international research seminar, held in May 2002, in Rome at the Tagliacarne Institute, within the EU sponsored project "Industrial districts' re location processes: identifying policies of EU enlargement West-East ID". The reason we decided to organise this book was not only to underline the importance of the industrial district (ID) model as a tool of propulsive local growth in a country like Italy. On the contrary, the idea that moved us was the theoretical dissatisfaction with the way in which the phenomenon of local development and industrial clustering of specific industries was treated in the international approach of the various disciplines.

Contemporary capitalistic systems have been undergoing profound transformations determined by the transition towards the so-called knowledge based economy, i.e. a competitive system based on the capabilities firms have to create, use and circulate knowledge. These transformations concern both the characteristics of productive and innovative processes, and the resources used in these activities. This book captures these changes, where traditional R&D investments undertaken internally by firms are increasingly and strategically complemented by external sources of innovation and new knowledge. Collaborations between firms, and between firms and other organizations, as well as the mobility of human capital, are strategic processes in order to share and circulate knowledge and competencies. They are also key determinants in the creation of new knowledge and innovation, and ultimately in growth dynamics. The circulation and distribution of knowledge is now a key input in the production of knowledge. Knowledge and innovation are understood as the result of collective and interactive processes at the system level, and less at the micro level. In other words, new knowledge production is less and less the result of individualistic behaviours of the firms and much more the effect of explicit and pro-active interactions and transactions put in place by local networks of innovators. In this perspective, economic space is much more defined by the quality of the interactions among actors rather than by their mere technological, sectoral or geographical proximity. This book brings together new conceptual and empirical contributions and blends the analysis of the technological and geographical spaces in which innovation and knowledge are produced.

The world has changed profoundly since the publication of the influential book Technopoles of the World. As policy-makers and practitioners attempt to harness science, technology and innovation to create dynamic and vibrant cities many wonder how relevant Manuel Castells and Peter Hall's messages are today. Twenty years later, this book returns to their concepts and practices to update their message for the 21st century. Making 21st Century Knowledge Complexes: Technopoles of the World Revisited argues that the contemporary technopole concept encompasses three new dimensions. Firstly, building synergy between partners is vital for the success of complexes. Secondly, the correct governance arrangements are critical to balance competing interests inevitable in any science city project. Thirdly, new evaluation mechanisms are indispensable in allowing policy-makers to steer their long-term benefits. Through twelve case study chapters and a detailed comparative analysis, this book provides academics, policy-makers and practitioners with critical insights in understanding, managing and promoting today's high-technology urban complexes.