Overview of knowledge economy in the Arab region
Samia S. O. M. Nour
#2013-015
This paper employs both the descriptive and comparative approaches and
uses the definition of knowledge and knowledge indicators used in the
literature to examine the existence and development of the knowledge
economy in the Arab region. We fill the gap in the Arab literature and
present a more comprehensive analysis of the development of knowledge
indicators in the Arab region. Our findings support the first hypothesis
that the knowledge economy exists in the Arab region and coincides with
a substantial knowledge gap compared to other world regions. Our results
corroborate the second hypothesis concerning the variation in knowledge
indicators, according to the structure of the economy in the Arab
region, and support the third hypothesis concerning the poor and slow
progress in the trend of knowledge - related indicators in the Arab
region. Therefore, it is essential for the Arab region to enhance the
knowledge economy and indicators to achieve economic development in the
Arab region.
Keywords: Knowledge economy, tacit knowledge, codified knowledge,
knowledge index, Arab region
JEL classification: O10, O11, O30