Weightless

Abstract: When an academic, scientist, or research engineer harps on about the knowledge-based economy, it’s hard to take as anything other than shameless self-serving hyperbole. Knowledge is, after all, what these people are supposed to be producing, and now here they are, telling the rest of us that that’s what drives the economy. Combine those self-promoting tendencies with the superficial observation that computers, the Internet, computer software, and other information technology—all products of scientific research—are more and more used in economic life: Little wonder that knowledge-economy and information-economy pushers are in full feeding frenzy. This paper describes one analytical perspective on the modern knowledge-based economy—the so-called weightless economy—and compares it with more traditional views on the role of knowledge in economic growth. The paper argues that while conventional understanding of knowledge and economic performance has an essential role to play, distinguishing that from the economic implications of the weightless economy yields important insights.