Australia: an under performing knowledge nation?

Understanding the concept of a knowledge‐based economy; having a vision to make a new knowledge economy competitive; and creating and implementing a strategy to achieve that vision, would all seem to be fundamental steps for any economy striving to compete in the new global knowledge marketplace. While such issues may appear obvious, how many economies have actually responded effectively to these challenges? This paper first examines the concept of a knowledge‐based economy and then evaluates the relative performance of Australia across a profile of key knowledge‐based performance indicators. Finally, the paper addresses some key challenges facing Australia, and most other OECD economies, as they try to compete in this knowledge race in the new millennium.