Demand-Side Characteristics of the Learning Economy: A Preliminary Assessment

The aim of the paper is to redress the almost exclusive supply-side focus of the existing studies on the learning economy. We first survey those strands of the economic literature that highlight the importance of the demand-side for long-term growth, following which we narrow our focus to a specific aspect of contemporary aggregate demand—consumer demand for quality amenity—and the role it plays in the emergence of the learning economy. We then go on to examine some previously not considered preconditions that fuel the growth of the learning economy, namely on the demand-side and dynamic feedback loops between supply and demand.