The Knowledge-Based Economy
Modeled, Measured, Simulated
by Loet Leydesdorff
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(free download) Synopsis
How can an economy based on something
as volatile as knowledge be sustained? The urgency of improving our
understanding of a knowledge-based economy provides the context and
necessity of this study. In a previous study entitled
A
Sociological Theory of Communications: The Self-Organization of the
Knowledge-based Society (2001) the author specified knowledge-based
systems from a sociological perspective. In this book, he takes this
theory one step further and demonstrates how the knowledge base of an
economic system can be operationalized, both in terms of measurement
and by providing simulation models. The measurement instruments are
applied to the German and Dutch economies and elaborated in terms of
regional and sectorial differences. The knowledge base is specified
in the simulations as a strongly anticipatory (sub)dynamic that can be
expected to operate within an economic system, but to variable extents.
"Challenging, theoretically rich yet
anchored in detailed empirical analysis, Loet Leydesdorff's exploration
of the dynamics of the knowledge-economy is a major contribution to the
field. Drawing on his expertise in science and technology studies,
systems theory, and his internationally respected work on 'the triple helix
of university-industry-government relations', the book provides a radically
new modelling and simulation of knowledge systems, capturing the
articulation of structure, communication, and agency therein. This work
will be of immense interest to both theorists of the knowledge-economy
and practitioners in science policy."
Andrew Webster
Science & Technology Studies, University of York, UK
"This book is a ground-breaking
collection of theory and techniques to help understand the internal
dynamics of the modern knowledge-based economy, including issues such
as stability, anticipation, and interactions amongst components. The
combination of theory, measurement, and modelling gives the necessary
power with which to address the complexity of modern networked social
systems. Each on its own would partly illuminate an innovation system,
but the combination sheds a far brighter light."
Mike Thelwall
Information Science, University of Wolverhampton, UK
"The sociologist Niklas Luhmann is
considered one of the few social scientists possibly able to explain a
decisive event once it has happened. In this book, Loet Leydesdorff
answers the challenge to take Luhmann's analysis one step further by
introducing anticipation into the theory. This book provides a
fascinating exploration of the use of recursion and incursion to model
social processes."
Dirk Baecker
Sociology, Universitat Witten/Herdecke, Germany
About the Author
Loet Leydesdorff (Ph.D. Sociology, M.A. Philosophy, and M.Sc.
Biochemistry) is Senior Lecturer at the Amsterdam
School of Communications Research (ASCoR), University of Amsterdam. He
has published extensively in science and technology studies about the
Triple Helix of university-industry-government relations,
scientometrics, systems theory, social network analysis, and the
sociology of innovation. He received the Derek de Solla Price Award for
Scientometrics and Informetrics in 2003. In 2005, he held The City of
Lausanne Honor Chair at the School of Economics, Universite de
Lausanne, Switzerland.
By the same author: The
Challenge of Scientometrics: The development, measurement, and
self-organization of scientific communications(Leiden University Press, 1995);
A
Sociological Theory of Communications: The Self-Organization of the
Knowledge-Based Society(Universal Publishers, 2001).