Knowledge and innovation : The Road to competitivity

Abstract

The central idea around which this essay is built is that knowledge, as an appreciating asset, intellectual capital and investment in education is becoming a dominant reality in the new economics and knowledge-based society. The first chapter underlines the importance of knowledge and intellectual capital as the main driven forces in the new millenium. The nation’s output depends not only on the number of hours people work ,but also on how productive those hours are. One of the important determinants of workers’ productivity is education Both private and public returns to education are highlighted in the third chapter. The implications of globalisation on the business world are of such a nature that it is necessary for us to redefine the economic concepts and models,aspect which I’ve tried to focus on in the fourth chapter. In the fifth chapter the attention is headed towards the new economies, which in the global civilisation are based on innovations and, furthermore, on technological development which leads towards a high level of competitivity and human development. More and more countries are interested in becoming knowledge-based societies, thus being more prepared to face the challenges of the new millenium.