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Is the learning economy a viable concept for understanding the modern economy?

John A. Cotsomitis (Canadian Centre for Research in Economics, Toronto, Canada)

International Journal of Social Economics

ISSN: 0306-8293

Article publication date: 5 March 2018

253

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the conceptual adequacy of the learning economy and its ability to describe the modern globalised economy. It is argued that unlike many fleeting catchwords and phrases found in economics, the learning economy represents a superior conceptual and heuristic starting point that reflects a new and emerging economic regime.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines those features of the learning economy which makes it a useful conceptualization and highlights some preconditions that are functional for its emergence. The paper then assesses the empirical validity of the learning economy and gauges its performance across 16 EU countries.

Findings

The learning economy represents a viable and useful concept in economics and the broader social sciences, which synthesizes recent attempts to depict what is new in the world economy into an internally coherent whole while overcoming previous shortcomings. It reflects a tangible reality that has taken hold most firmly in a small but significant part of the world, the Nordic countries of Northwestern Europe.

Social implications

Because it has already emerged in some advanced countries, the learning economy offers a concrete exemplar for other countries to emulate. If one has to ask people and communities to sacrifice, save and invest for the future, it is more convincing to do so for a concrete and credible future that does exist than for some conjectural future.

Originality/value

The paper uses an epistemological perspective to analyse the concept of the learning economy as articulated by Bengt-Äke Lundvall.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This paper represents a substantial extension and enhancement of a portion of an unpublished manuscript written by the author and the late Christian DeBresson formerly at the Département de Management et Technologie, École de Science et de la Gestion, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada. The author would like to thank an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments and suggestions. The author is grateful to Professor Gilbert Stillman for insightful feedback on an earlier draft of the paper. Parts of Sections 2.2 and 2.3 of the paper draw on John A. Cotsomitis (2014), Demand-Side Characteristics of the Learning Economy: A Preliminary Assessment, Review of Political Economy, 26(3), 449-473. Any remaining errors or omissions are those of the author.

Citation

Cotsomitis, J.A. (2018), "Is the learning economy a viable concept for understanding the modern economy?", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 45 No. 3, pp. 492-507. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-01-2017-0025

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

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