Trajectories in knowledge economy : empirics from SSA and MENA countries

Simplice A. Asongu (African Governance and Development Institute, Yaoundé, Cameroon), Antonio R. Andrés (Universidad del Norte, Escuela de Negocios, Departamento de Finanzas y Organizacion, Barranquilla, Colombia)

In the first critical assessment of knowledge economy dynamic paths in Africa and the Middle East, but for a few exceptions, we find overwhelming support for diminishing cross-country disparities in knowledge-base-economy dimensions. The paper employs all the four components of the World Bank's Knowledge Economy Index (KEI): economic incentives, innovation, education, and information infrastructure. The main finding suggests that sub-Saharan African (SSA) and the Middle East and North African (MENA) countries with low levels in KE dynamics and catching-up their counterparts of higher KE levels. We provide the speeds of integration and time necessary to achieve full (100%) integration. Policy implications are discussed.

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Year of publication:	December 2015
Authors:	Asongu, Simplice ; Andrés, Antonio R.
Publisher:	[Yaoundé] : African Governance and Development Institute
Subject:	Knowledge economy \| Principal component analysis \| Panel data \| Convergence \| Wissensgesellschaft \| Knowledge society \| MENA-Staaten \| MENA countries \| Panel \| Panel study \| Wirtschaftliche Konvergenz \| Economic convergence \| Hauptkomponentenanalyse \| Wissensmanagement \| Knowledge management