Key Variables

14 key variables are selected to create a simplified "basic scorecard" that attempts to capture a country's preparedness for the knowledge-based economy.  The data set consists of 12 variables that represent the four pillars of the knowledge economy and are used to calculate countries’ Knowledge (KI) and Knowledge Economy (KEI) indexes. The scorecard also presents two variables related to the overall economic and social performance.

The variables are available for two points in time: for 1995 and for the most recent available year.

Please note that some variables come from the World Bank's internal database Development Data Platform (DDP). Whenever possible, we provide the source of the original data.

Overall Performance of the Economy

Average Annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Growth, 1993-97 and 2003-2007 (%) (DDP). Annual GDP growth is a good indicator of a country's overall economic development.

 

Human Development Index (HDI), 2005 (UNDP Human Development Report 2007/2008). HDI is a composite measure of three components: longevity (measured by life expectancy); knowledge (adult literacy rate and mean years of schooling); and standard of living (real GDP per capita in purchasing power parity). The HDI provides information on the human development aspect of economic growth.

 

The Economic Incentive and Institutional Regime

Tariff & Nontariff Barriers, 2009 (Heritage Foundation). The index is based on the Heritage Foundation's Trade Policy index and measures the degree of economic freedom.

 

Regulatory Quality, 2007 (Governance Indicators, World Bank). The index measures the incidence of market-unfriendly policies such as price controls or inadequate bank supervision, as well as perceptions of the burdens imposed by excessive regulation in areas such as foreign trade and business development.

 

Rule of Law, 2007 (Governance Indicators, World Bank). The indicator measures the extent to which agents have confidence in and abide by the rules of society. These include perceptions of the incidence of both violent and non-violent crime, the effectiveness and predictability of the judiciary, and the enforceability of contracts.

 

Education and Human Resources

Adult Literacy Rate,  2007 (UNESCO). The indicator gives a very broad stock measure of educated population. It refers to the percentage of people aged 15 and above who can, with understanding, read and write a short, simple statement on their everyday life.

 

Gross enrolment ratios -Secondary Enrollment, 2007 and Tertiary Enrollment, 2006 (UNESCO) - are used to provide a flow rate. (Gross enrollment ratio is the ratio of total enrollment, regardless of age, to the population of the age group that officially corresponds to the level of education indicated.) Secondary education completes the provision of basic education that began at the primary level, and aims at laying the foundations for lifelong learning and human development, by offering more subject- or skill-oriented instruction using more specialized teachers. Tertiary education, whether or not to an advanced research qualification, normally requires, as a minimum condition of admission, the successful completion of education at the secondary level.

 

The Innovation System

Three variables have been chosen to represent this pillar. As an input into the innovation system, we use Royalty and License Fees Payments and Receipts, 2007 (DDP). For output, we have Patent Applications Granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office, average for 1993-97 and 2003-2007 (USPTO),  and Scientific and Technical Journal Articles, 2005 (DDP). These three innovation variables are presented in two ways:

• all three variables are scaled by population (the "weighted" innovation variables).
• all three variables are presented in absolute numbers (the "unweighted" innovation variables).

Patents granted by the USPTO includes utility patents and other types of U.S. documents, such as design patents, plant patents, reissues, defensive publications, and statutory inventions and registrations.

 

Scientific and technical journal articles refer to the number of scientific and engineering articles published in the following fields: physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics, clinical medicine, biomedical research, engineering and technology, and earth and space sciences.

 

Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

Telephones per 1,000 people, 2007 (ITU). The indicator is the sum of telephone mainlines and mobile phones.

 

Computers per 1,000 people 2007 (ITU).This is an indicator of personal computer penetration and use.

 

Internet Users per 1,000 people, 2007 (ITU). The indicator relies on nationally reported data. In some cases, it is based on national surveys (they differ across countries in the age and frequency of use they cover), in others it is derived from reported Internet Service Provider subscriber counts.