The phrase knowledge economy typically refers to an economy that is built on advanced technological expertise. It also refers to knowledge economies, which are institutions in which knowledge is a key good that is transferred in some form. The first type of knowledge economy clearly necessitates the second, although the opposite is not necessarily true. The intellectual property laws exist largely to regulate the market of knowledge, be it technical or otherwise. In response to this dynamic, business schools have created the subject of knowledge management, which studies how to control information generation and flow so that institutions can make the most use of it (Sismondo, 2010). The financial costs and benefits associated with knowledge and scientific research are often difficult to track as they cannot be accounted for quite in the same way as tangible goods.
Modern research is mostly inherently commercial, as the resources required by scientists to conduct a representative project and to then publish it possess distinct financial barriers to entry. Knowledge is largely gate-kept by financial prosperity through the factors of the relative availability of necessary spare time to the richer groups of population to the prices of finalized articles. Intellectual property, although intangible, is a distinct commodity with a highly competitive and largely expensive market. Thus, the arguments against the commercialization of science are to be expected and can be strongly argued for on the basis of many social and cultural principles. One argues that the restrictions that exist between the general public and the large bodies of research should be relaxed. In part such practices would allow greater number of people to engage in production and business with the new knowledge, thus potentially producing more valuable items.
Reference
Sismondo, S, (2010). An introduction to science and technology studies, Wiley-Blackwel