Book Description

This book presents an entirely new approach to knowledge, creativity and social organisation. The first part of the book provides a trenchant critique of current globalisation, of multinational corporations, the WTO, and intellectual property rights. The rest of the book outlines an alternative globalisation based on inclusion, democratic participation, and equality. The role of the universities in this process is given special attention. The alternative globalisation is still based on the market economy but not necessarily one in which the sole objective of the corporations is to maximise profits. The book is a must-read for all economists, including those who are satisfied with the current state of the subject. The analyses of this volume of outstanding papers edited by Sacchetti and Sugden are fresh, sober and entirely convincing. Ajit Singh, University of Cambridge, UK It is arguable that at the root of the current global crisis lies the ferocious attack on critical thinking indeed freedom of thought that has taken place over the past 30 years or so. The editors of this volume are among the minority voices that kept thinking outside the box and voicing their views during this period. Their present volume offers fascinating readings on diverse issues ranging from uneven development, through university and art management, to motivation, capabilities and democratic governance, as they relate to knowledge and learning. It is hoped that the book will receive the attention it deserves and that more such voices will now be raised and heard. Christos Pitelis, University of Cambridge, UK While the relevance of knowledge in economic development represents a consolidated result, this volume takes some important steps forward in new directions. Highly valuable is the attempt to integrate the study of knowledge production, with its potential for improved creativity, whose expression is now dependent on the social structure and is not merely exogenous any more. The focus on heterodox approaches and on non-traditional organisational and proprietary forms is particularly coherent with both the theoretical premises of the volume and the expected evolution of economies. Carlo Borzaga, University of Trento, Italy This is a collection of essays which escapes the confines of mainstream economics, raising fundamental questions of the role of academics in policy making. It requires the reader to imagine different worlds to think beyond present realities; a book striving to deal with important issues, not sliding over them to make cheap points. A scholarly work; demanding, in places difficult, but worth persevering with. Should be read by everyone interested in a different way forward for economic development in a global world. Keith Cowling, University of Warwick, UK This innovative book offers a critical perspective on the state of the current global economy, making sense of knowledge-related issues by critically assessing existing institutional choices, as well as pointing to new ways forward. The pioneering chapters reposition knowledge in a number of economic debates including regional development, property rights, social enterprises, corporate governance, the management of universities, and the role of creative activities. They explore the possibility of an institutional dynamism that impacts not only on the characteristics of localities and their place in a hierarchical and ordered system of relationships, but on the nature of the system itself. Conclusions point at the individual and collective dimensions of the knowledge discovery process, suggesting a renewed approach to the assessment of economic choices. This insightful book offers an original perspective on knowledge-related issues and constitutes a valuable read for academics and postgraduate students in international business and economic competitiveness, as well practitioners and policymakers who are interested in alternative analyses and methods for economic develop