For countries in the vanguard of the world economy, the balance between knowledge and resources has shifted so far towards the former that knowledge has become perhaps the most important factor determining the standard of living – more than land, than tools, than labor. Today’s most technologically advanced economies are truly knowledge-based.

Countries in the world are moving from an industrial economy to a knowledge economy in which economic growth is dependent on a country’s ability to create, accumulate and disseminate knowledge. Computers and the Internet catalyzed the growth of the knowledge economy by enabling people to codify knowledge into a digital form easily transmitted to anywhere around the world. People who have access to this new wave of ICT – broadly defined as technology that can be used for transmitting and/or processing information – are part of an information society connected to a virtual network that constantly creates and disseminates new information. ICT has sped up the pace of globalization and increased the complexity of business practices because firms not only need to be familiar with their local context but also with global developments. Thus, to compete in the knowledge economy, countries need a strong ICT-literate skills base that can innovate and adapt quickly to change. More value is placed on the knowledge worker than ever before. Knowledge, change and globalization are the driving forces of the new economy.