European policies for a knowledge economy

Abstract:

The European Council meeting in Lisbon in 2000 adopted a long term strategy for economic and social development to achieve a more competitive economy, with more and better jobs and social cohesion. It spawned a number of new initiatives regarding information society, research, enterprises, economic reforms, education, employment, social protection and social inclusion.

This work looks at those initiatives and aims to provide organised information on this European knowledge based economy. Of the eight chapters, the first two deal with the general background and the general strategy. The following chapters go on to deal with each specific policy in turn. Attention is given to the challenges, new approaches, new adopted orientations and their preliminary assessment, together with key issues that need to be tackled in the years to come. Chapter three looks at the information society. Chapter four examines policies for research and development, while policies for enterprise and innovation are the focus of chapter five. A learning society and the concept of lifelong learning is explored in chapter six. Social protection and social inclusion policies are featured in chapter seven, which explores the opportunities for renewing the European social model. The final chapter presents a conclusion and evaluation of the progress made and suggests the next steps on the way to a knowledge-based economy able to deal with the challenges posed by globalization.

The book will interest scholars, students of European Studies, public administrators and business people with involvement in European policies.

Maria João Rodrigues is a Professor at ISCTE - University Institute, Lisbon, and President of the Social Sciences Advisory Group to the European Commission.