Since 1998, the OECD and the World Bank have co-operated in activities on building knowledge-based economies, reaching out to a number of developing and transition economies. This joint effort has included a policy review on Korea (Korea and the Knowledge-based Economy: Making the Transition) and similar products are under way on China. In addition, the two organisations have organised joint policy forums with high-level participation from a spectrum of key government ministries and authorities and other key stakeholders, in a selected number of economies. These meetings have enabled intensive learning and exchange between the participating countries -- and across the board within their different spheres of government -- on how to foster policy frameworks which are conducive to the development and use of knowledge, e.g. creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship.
A first such meeting took place in Helsinki in 1998, with Poland and the Baltic countries as participants, and a second meeting was organised in Singapore in 1999 with Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Korea. The third -- and most important meeting so far -- was organised in April in the United Kingdom.
High-level delegations from Brazil, China, and India gathered on the outskirts of London last month to design preliminary strategies on how to help their countries succeed in the global knowledge economy of the 21st century. With a combined population that equals 45% of the world's total, these three economies are bound to figure prominently in the decades to come. Despite differences in history, culture, and economic systems, they share remarkably similar challenges in important respects.
The policy forum on Using Knowledge for Development, organised jointly by the World Bank Institute, the British Council and the OECD, brought together teams of policy makers from ministries of finance, planning, education, science and technology, and information infrastructure, who joined representatives from the private sector, academia, think tanks, media, and non-governmental organisations. Early on, Deputy Ministers of Science and Technology, or the equivalent, from the three countries made in-depth, open-minded introductions to their respective knowledge strategies. Towards the end of the meeting, after a week of intensive exchange, there were again presentations and discussions, now with a view forward to what changes are needed and how barriers to reform can be overcome.
"A unique aspect of this forum is that it provided an opportunity for knowledge sharing and for frank and open discussion between the various government ministries as well as with representatives from the private sector and civil society from China." (Wang Shuilin, Deputy Director General from China's State Council Office for Restructuring Economic System)
According to Carl Dahlman, manager of the Knowledge for Development Program at the World Bank Institute: "To benefit from the knowledge revolution, these three large countries will need to devise concrete strategies to address the four pillars of the knowledge economy: economic incentive and institutional regime, education and training, information infrastructure, and innovation system. To ensure a coherent strategy across these sectors, government will need to be more responsive and dynamic in taking account of inter-sectoral linkages."
In addition to the four pillars, the participants also addressed issues of political economy and governance in the knowledge economy. The forum covered issues related to unequal national development: how to address poverty in the countries' large rural populations where access to services and technology is limited. Also on the table were country experiences in increasing agricultural productivity, for example, through research and biotechnology. Participants presented case studies on using new information and communications technologies (ICTs) to help the poor through extension services.
Summarising a principle that holds true for all developing countries, R.A.Mashelkar, Director General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in India stated: "What is important is to blend the vast store of traditional knowledge in our countries with new knowledge and then value and protect it through patents."
Drawing lessons from recent patterns among OECD countries that show an increasing reliance on knowledge, Thomas Andersson, Deputy Director of the OECD's Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry, and co-ordinator of the organisation's co-operation with the World Bank on Building Knowledge-Based Economies, noted: "In this kind of knowledge-based growth pattern, success requires higher multifactor productivity which partly results from organisational change and ICT development, innovation and effective linkages in the economy, and the availability of venture capital. Under these circumstances, the policy setting has to face up to the challenge of building adaptive skills, producing sustainable outcomes, fostering entrepreneurs, valuing knowledge properly, and strengthening governance in order for the economy to be able to effectively adapt to changing circumstances."
To help ensure that the seeds of co-operation would flourish, the Indian team volunteered to set up an electronic network to continue discussion among the country teams and resource persons and to provide mutual support in implementing their plans back home. There were also bilateral meetings between the participating teams, and commitments between them to establish co-operation to enhance knowledge exchange and learning how to create a more comprehensive policy for the context of the globalising, knowledge-based economy.
