Knowledge Based Economy: Approaches, Foundations and Implications

Knowledge driven economy, knowledge based economy, knowledge economy and so on, are some words being used frequently in the recent era, either in academic texts or in speeches of the politicians. This article represents a theoretical discussion of the various approaches to this concept in order to explicate different meanings of knowledge based economy in academic circles. Five approaches be distinguished, each of which is based on a different theoretical foundation. Three out of those five approaches represent more reliable pictures that in turn call for further attention. The current article will pay especial attention to critically analyse those three approaches and shall highlight their basic differences, chief among them their different views to the concept of knowledge and its role in economy. However, none of them argued that the economy is transformed or transforming into a new stage, i.e. the knowledge economy stage different from the industrial economy; but they mainly suggest that knowledge economy is just a different view to industrial economy, viewing it from the knowledge perspective. This shows that apart from the suggestions of some international organizations like the World Bank, or OECD that recommends policy makers to set special policies in order to enter the new phase of economy, i.e. the knowledge based economy; more robust academic approaches do not consider the transformation as a reliable view. Therefore, our country also should take more precise and academic approaches vis-à-vis knowledge based economy in order to avoid the pitfalls of non academic, but political approaches.