Building Knowledge Economies in Africa: An Introduction

Asongu, Simplice and Kuada, John (2020): Building Knowledge Economies in Africa: An Introduction. Published in: Contemporary Social Science , Vol. 1, No. 15 (February 2020): pp. 1-6.

Abstract

Knowledge has emerged as a fundamental driver of economic growth and development by inter alia improving the effectiveness and efficiency of economic projects and boosting the process of finding new avenues of addressing developmental policy syndromes. Recent evidence suggests that Africa is on the threshold of significant and sustainable economic growth if its human and material resources can be effectively mobilised to support the process (Kuada & Mensah, 2017; Asongu & Tchamyou, 2019). Consequently, the World Bank’s Knowledge Economy Framework aims to explore and support the extent to which current policies in African countries affect the knowledge development process (and thereby competitiveness) on the continent. A knowledge economy is an economy in which economic prosperity largely depends on the accessibility, quality and quantity of information available, instead of the means of production (Asongu, 2017a, 2017b). This themed issue of Contemporary Social Science-‘Building Knowledge Economies in Africa’ - consists of papers that focus on, but are not limited to, the four dimensions of the World Bank’s Knowledge Economy Index. These are: information and communication technology, education, economic incentives and institutional regime, and innovation (Tchamyou, 2017). The themed issue engages with high quality contributions which, taken together, address the drivers towards knowledge-based economies. This introduction provides a context for understanding the importance of building knowledge economies in Africa and summarises the main contributions to the themed issue. The paper ends by advising scholars and policy makers regarding the risks associated with a colonial view of knowledge- notably the importance of proposing knowledge-based policies while avoiding hegemonic paradigms and hierarchical constructs. In summary, the issue consists of a set of theoretically informed, empirically robust, policy-relevant and accessible articles for both specialists and non-specialists.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Knowledge economy; Development; Africa
• Subjects: O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O10 - General; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights > O30 - General; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights > O38 - Government Policy; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O5 - Economywide Country Studies > O55 - Africa; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O5 - Economywide Country Studies > O57 - Comparative Studies of Countries

References

Amankwah-Amoah, J., Osabutey, E., & Egbetokun, A. (2018). “Contemporary challenges and opportunities of doing business in Africa: The emerging roles and effects of technologies”. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 131(June), pp. 171-174.

Amavilah, V. H., Asongu, S. A., & Andrés, A. R. (2017). “Effects of globalization on peace and stability: Implications for governance and the knowledge economy of African countries”. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 122(September), pp. 91-103.

Anyanwu, J. C., (2012). “Developing Knowledge for the Economic Advancement of Africa”, International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences, 1(2), pp. 73-111.

Asiedu, E., (2014). “Does Foreign Aid in Education Promote Economic Growth? Evidence From Sub-Saharan Africa”, Journal of African Development, 16(1), pp. 37-59.

Asongu, S. A., (2017a). “The Comparative Economics of Knowledge Economy in Africa: Policy Benchmarks, Syndromes, and Implications”. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 8(2), pp. 596–637.

Asongu, S. A., (2017b). “Knowledge Economy Gaps, Policy Syndromes, and Catch-Up Strategies: Fresh South Korean Lessons to Africa”. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 8(1), pp. 211–253.

Asongu, S. A., & Acha-Anyi, P. N., (2019). “A survey on the Washington Consensus and the Beijing Model: reconciling development perspectives”, International Review of Economics, DOI: 10.1007/s12232-019-00334-9.

Asongu, S. A., & Minkoua, N. J. R., (2018). “Dynamic openness and finance in Africa”, The International Journal of Trade and Economic Development, 27(4), pp. 409-430.

Asongu, S. A., & Nwachukwu, J. C., (2017). “The Comparative Inclusive Human Development of Globalisation in Africa”, Social Indicators Research, 134 (3), pp. 1027–1050

Asongu, S. A., & Nwachukwu, J. C., (2018). “Educational quality thresholds in the diffusion of knowledge with mobile phones for inclusive human development in sub-Saharan Africa”, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 129(April), pp. 164-172

Asongu, S. A., & Tchamyou, V. S. (2019). “Foreign Aid, Education and Lifelong Learning in Africa”. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 10(1), pp. 126–146.

Asongu, S. A., & Tchamyou, V. S., (2018). “Human Capital, Knowledge Creation, Knowledge Diffusion, Institutions and Economic Incentives: South Korea versus Africa”. Contemporary Social Science. DOI: 10.1080/21582041.2018.1457170.

Asongu, S. A., & Odhiambo, N. M., (2019a). “Building Knowledge-Based Economies in Africa: A Systematic Review of Policies and Strategies”, Journal of the Knowledge Economy. DOI: 10.1007/s13132-019-00617-0.

Asongu, S. A., & Odhiambo, N. M., (2019b). “Challenges of Doing Business in Africa: A Systematic Review”, Journal of African Business, 20(2), pp. 259-268.

Asongu,S. A., & Odhiambo, N. M., (2019c). “Remittances, the diffusion of information and industrialisation in Africa”, Contemporary Social Sciences, DOI: 10.1080/21582041.2019.1618898.

Boateng, A., Asongu, S. A., Akamavi, R., & Tchamyou, V. S., (2018). “Information Asymmetry and Market Power in the African Banking Industry”, Journal of Multinational Financial Management, 44(March), pp. 69-83.

Escobar, A., (2007). “Worlds and knowledges otherwise: the Latin American modernity/ coloniality research program”. Cultural Studies, 21(2–3), pp. 179–210.

Ejemeyovwi, J. O., & Osabuohien, E. S., (2018). “Investigating the relevance of mobile technology adoption on inclusive growth in West Africa”, Contemporary Social Science, DOI: 10.1080/21582041.2018.1503320.

Fofack, H., (2014). “The Idea of Economic Development: Views from Africa”, WIDER Working Paper 2014/093, Helsinki.

Franco, A., Malhotra, N., & Simonovits, G., (2014). “Publication Bias in the Social Sciences: Unlocking the File Drawer”, Science, 345(6203), pp. 1502-1505.

Grosfoguel, R., (2007).“The epistemic decolonial turn: Beyond political-economy paradigms”. Cultural Studies, 21(2–3), pp. 211–223.

Karakara, A. A., & Osabuohien, E. S., (2019). “Households' ICT access and bank patronage in West Africa: Empirical insights from Burkina Faso and Ghana”, Technology in Society, 56(February), pp. 116-125.

Kuada, J., (2015). Private Enterprise-Led Economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Human Side of Growth. First edition by Kuada, J, Palgrave Macmillan: New York.

Kuada, J. (2016a). “Financial market performance and growth in Africa”. African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, 7(2), https://doi.org/10.1108/AJEMS-04-2016-0038

Kuada, J.,(2016b). “Management, welfare and organizational development in Africa," African Journal of Economic and Management Studies”, 7(3), pp. 290-294,

Kuada, J., & Mensah, E.,(2018). “Knowledge transfer in the emerging solar energy sector in Ghana.” Contemporary Social Science. DOI: 10.1080/21582041.2018.1510132.

Meniago, C., & Asongu, S. A., (2018). “Revisiting the finance-inequality nexus in a panel of African countries”, Research in International Business and Finance, 46 (December), pp. 399-419.

Ndlovu-Gatsheni S. J., (2013).Coloniality of Power in Postcolonial Africa: Myths of Decolonisation. Dakar: CODESRIA

Petrakis, P. E., & Stamatakis, D. (2002). “Growth and educational levels: a comparative analysis”. Economics of Education Review, 21(2), pp. 513-521.

Oluwatobi, S., Olurinola, I., Alege, P., & Ogundipe, A., (2018). “Knowledge-driven economic growth: the case of Sub-Saharan Africa”, Contemporary Social Science, DOI: 10.1080/21582041.2018.1510135.

Quijano, A., (2000). “Coloniality of power, ethnocentrism, and Latin America”, Nepantla, 1(3), pp. 533-580.

Rosenberg, M. S., (2005). “The file-drawer problem revisited: a general weighted method for calculating fail-safe numbers in meta-analysis”, Evolution, 59(2), pp. 464-468.

Tchamyou, S. V. (2017). “The role of knowledge economy in African business”. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 8(4), 1189–1228.

Tchamyou, V. S., (2018). “Education, Lifelong learning, Inequality and Financial access: Evidence from African countries”, Contemporary Social Science. DOI: 10.1080/21582041.2018.1433314.

Tchamyou, V. S. (2019). “The Role of Information Sharing in Modulating the Effect of Financial Access on Inequality”. Journal of African Business, 20(3), pp. 317-338.

Tchamyou, V. S., & Asongu, S. A. (2017). Information Sharing and Financial Sector Development in Africa. Journal of African Business, 18(7), 24-49.

Tchamyou, V.S., Erreygers, G., & Cassimon, D. (2019a). “Inequality, ICT and Financial Access in Africa”. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 139 (February), 169-184.

Tchamyou, V. S., Asongu, S. A., & Odhiambo, N. M., (2019b). “The Role of ICT in Modulating the Effect of Education and Lifelong Learning on Income Inequality and Economic Growth in Africa”, African Development Review, 31(3), pp. 261-274.