![Workers on production line making cars at a Fiat factory in Poland](https://www.mmu.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/page_header_half/public/2021-05/610560060.jpg?h=140710cd&itok=JmUx-nzW)
Research: Politics, policy and the knowledge economy
Examining the interface between public policy decisions and knowledge-intensive industries.
About
Research summary
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January 2019 - Ongoing
This project examines the evolution of the “knowledge economy” over the last three decades – both as a concept invoked by politicians, policymakers and economists, and as an economic reality.
Since the early 1990s, economic policymakers in developed democracies have relied on the knowledge economy as a driver of inclusive growth.
The idea that the growth of knowledge-intensive sectors such as IT, advanced manufacturing, finance and pharmaceuticals could create well-paid jobs and achieve equality of opportunity on a societal scale has been a recurring feature of mainstream politics and policy.
The case for knowledge-driven growth is still made today, by those calling for a tech-propelled recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
This research explores:
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the role of knowledge-driven growth in the economic thinking and rhetoric of politicians, public officials and policy commentators in developed democracies since 1990
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the nature and impact of public policies constructed on the basis of this economic analysis
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the evolution of knowledge-intensive industries, including the emergence, regulation and taxation of internet platforms
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similarities and differences between developed democracies in terms of policy decisions and the development of their knowledge economies
Research outputs
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O’Donovan, N (2020) “From knowledge economy to automation anxiety: a growth regime in crisis?” New Political Economy 25, no. 2 (2020): 248-266
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O’Donovan, N (2021) “Making work: the knowledge economy, automation and industrial strategy”, in The Political Economy of Industrial Strategy, ed. Berry, C, Froud, J and Barker, T Agenda Publishing
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O’Donovan, N (2021 - forthcoming) “Personal Data and Collective Value: Data-driven personalisation as network effect”, in Data-Driven Personalisation in Markets, Politics and Law, ed. Uta Kohl and Jacob Eisler, Cambridge University Press
Contact
Contacts us
Contact the Centre of Economic Policy.
Postgraduate research opportunities in this area will be advertised on our study with us pages.