A new approach on measuring the knowledge complexity in the view of the bipartite network

ABSTRACT

Developed countries are guaranteed to have the ownership of higher knowledge complexity, which is naturally accepted and universally acknowledged. However, the reality may tell a different story. In this article, a brand-new approach is utilized to quantify the knowledge complexity. Within the bipartite network model, based on the Fitness and Complexity algorithm and the matrix-estimation exercise, a couple of indicators are constructed to measure generalized knowledge complexities of countries and technologies. Results illuminate that admittedly knowledge complexities of countries and those of technologies are interrelated, and those established and developed countries, compared with developing ones, do not necessarily own higher knowledge complexity. To be more specific, an increasing number of facts demonstrate that some less-developed countries with less-advanced technologies are progressing in leaps and bounds, for they attach great importance to investing in high-knowledge-complexity technologies.

KEYWORDS:

• Knowledge complexity
• bipartite network
• The Fitness and Complexity algorithm
• matrix-estimation exercise
• OLS

JEL CLASSIFICATION:

• C45
• C60
• P49

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.