Requirements to Achieve a Knowledge-Based Economy at Macro Level: Analysis of Legal Framework in Iran and Some Policy Recommendations

Subject of this article is analysis of requirements to achieve a knowledge-based economy at the macro level, and in particular, legal frameworks necessary for realization of knowledge-based economy in Iran. For this purpose, a framework, that is close to the one developed by Australian Bureau of Statistics is used in which, knowledge-based economy consists of four main dimensions: context (institutional and economic structure), human capital, information and communication technology, and innovation and entrepreneurship. The results show that despite different laws and regulations in development programs and other permanent laws, current situation in Iran is far away from a coherent and comprehensive legal framework to move towards a knowledge-based economy. In the field of entrepreneurship and innovation, there are several legal weaknesses. Compared to the previous two pillars, human resources development and information and communication technology are more acceptable in current legal framework. Also, using the World Economic Forum's competitiveness framework, structural reform priorities to establish a knowledge-based economy in Iran are mentioned in this study.
JEL Classification: O38, O32, O30.