Economía del Conocimiento, Crisis Financiera y Depresión (The Economy of Knowledge, Collapse and Depression)

Spanish Abstract: Este articulo revisa una rama reciente de investigacion que subraya que las actuales instituciones de la economia del conocimiento ponen en peligro la promesa de crecimiento y prosperidad que se atribuye al mayor uso del conocimiento. La privatizacion excesiva del conocimiento genera circulos viciosos y virtuosos de acumulacion de propiedad intelectual e inversion en capital humano que se auto refuerzan y aumentan la desigualdad global. Las actuales instituciones de la economia global tambien reducen las oportunidades de inversion globales, una de las causas de la actual depresion global. Sin antidotos espontaneos contra esos fenomenos, la politica economica y la cientifica deberian intentar corregir, en forma coordinada y global, el balance entre conocimiento publico y privado. English Abstract: This paper reviews a recent strand of research emphasizing how the present institutions of the knowledge economy may be jeopardizing the very promise of growth and prosperity that the increased use of knowledge is generally reported to bring about. The excessive privatization of knowledge generates self-reinforcing vicious and virtuous circles of accumulation of intellectual property and investment in human capital, which increase global inequality. The present institutions of the global economy entail also a reduction of global investment opportunities that is one of the causes of the present global depression. Absent spontaneous antidotes to these phenomena, economic and science policies should aim at redressing the balance between public and private knowledge. Because of the distortion of incentives, stemming from uncompensated knowledge externalities at the international level, these policies should necessarily be coordinated at global level.