Why do societies benefit differently from knowledge? How exactly does social interaction interfere with knowledge acquisition and diffusion? This original Handbook brings together a wide range of differing approaches to shed light on these questions and others relating to the role and relevance of knowledge in economic analysis. By illuminating the philosophical roots of the various notions of knowledge employed by economists, this Handbook helps to disentangle conceptual and typological issues surrounding the debate on knowledge among economists. Wide-ranging in scope, it explores fundamental aspects of the relationship between knowledge and economics - such as the nature of knowledge, knowledge acquisition and knowledge diffusion.

This important compendium embraces various fields and traditions of economic analysis and discusses the role of knowledge in 21 papers from outstanding international scholars. Advanced scholars and postgraduate students interested in cross-fertilization between different fields of economic analysis will find this Handbook of considerable importance.

Contributors: A. Amin, R. Arena, M. Augier, M.C. Becker, T. Brenner, T. Broekel, P. Cohendet, G. Dosi, J. Durieu, V. Dutraive, M. Egidi, A. Festre, D. Foray, T. Knudsen, N. Lazaric, B.J. Loasby, B.-A. Lundvall, P. Nightingale, B. Nooteboom, A. Orlean, R. Patalano, L. Ragni, S. Rizzello, P.P. Saviotti, P. Solal, A. Spada, U. Witt