Making the transition to a ‘knowledge economy’ and ‘knowledge society’: Exploring the challenges for Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Education and human capital development are seen by the government of Saudi Arabia as vital to the aim of gaining knowledge economy status. Although financial investment has been evident in education and human capital development in Saudi Arabia for many years, knowledge acquisition, production, and diffusion remain problematic. The strategy that underpins the shift to a knowledge economy is based on the assumption drawn from human capital theory that education can transform individual productivity and therefore promote economic development. However, the links between education and economic growth are not as linear as this framing of education suggests, but depend on complex social processes. Within these processes, individual understandings of knowledge and knowledge creation are crucial. The implications of this for Saudi Arabia are discussed with reference to the work of Knorr Cetina (2007) on knowledge cultures and David and Foray (2002) on knowledge communities. A transition to a knowledge economy is more likely to occur when cultural and social conditions enable the development of knowledge cultures and knowledge communities.

Citation

Patrick, F. (2014), "Making the transition to a ‘knowledge economy’ and ‘knowledge society’: Exploring the challenges for Saudi Arabia", Education for a Knowledge Society in Arabian Gulf Countries (International Perspectives on Education and Society, Vol. 24), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 229-251. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-367920140000024018