Information Economy (Knowledge economy) is an economy which based on knowledge, in which a large part of the gross domestic product is provided by activities of production, processing, storage and dissemination of information and knowledge, and participate in the work, more than half of the employed.
In recent decades, becoming more pronounced tendency to spread fundamentally new phenomena and processes in the economy and other factors are identified as economic development at the macro level and at the firm level. The main reason for these changes is the beginning and development of the «information revolution», leading to the formation of a new economic system. There is a replacement machine technology as the primary productive resource of the industrial age of information, knowledge, intelligence. The growing automation of material production allows to concentrate efforts on the labor sphere of intellectual production, the creation of information products and services.
The concept of information is very capacious, it refers to a group of general scientific categories and occupies an important place in various sciences, such as physics, biology, psychology, economics, sociology and others. From the standpoint of research participation information in economic activity and its influence on economic processes and phenomena, the most relevant information, the following definition:: information is a means of reducing uncertainty and risk, contributing to the implementation of specific objectives of the subject. This determination takes into account the possibility of information to bring certain benefits by reducing the uncertainty of the current situation and changes in the future. It should be noted that the information can reduce uncertainty, but not of value to the agent because of the lack of economic needs, which could satisfy the information. Therefore it is necessary that the definition of information as a means of reducing the uncertainty of its ability to ensure that the goals and implementation needs of the subject.
Forms existence information in various economy are it materializes in various subjects, including means labor exists in the form of soft, including information in the form of products and services, knowledge of people. The concept of knowledge and information should be separated from each other. Knowledge is processed information, they represent the relationship between the phenomena identified patterns and answer the questions «How», «Why?" etc., while the information answers the questions «What», «Who?" «When?" «Where?". [1. с. 56]
Information and knowledge as undoubtedly are a variety of economic benefits, they meet the needs of individuals, and are also used as economic resources, as with all abundance of information, there are factors that limit the possibilities as it is received, and the creation of new knowledge and its prospects. More complicated is the question of attribution of information to the category of public or private goods. Depending on the forms of existence, content information can act in this and in other capacities. The boundaries of the demarcation of specific information and knowledge on public and private good rather vague, which makes it difficult to regulate relations in the specification and protection of ownership.
In this aspect, consider one of the most adequate criteria is the ability to commercialize information, cost-effective use [2. с. 70]. Thus, information and knowledge, materialized in the means of labor, other objects act as an object property, while, for example, the knowledge accumulated by previous generations, are public benefits, the availability of which is the key to further scientific and technical development.
Information as an economic good turns in the economy as a commodity (information products and services), as well as a resource used in the course of economic activity. Information products and services are exchanged in the information market and have a large number of features, both stages of development, production, and at the stage treatment. For information goods and services include software, databases, educational services, counseling, and other Research and Development results.
In the process of creating information products the main means of production appears intelligence, which is a person's ability to create new knowledge. Hence the singular subjectivity of the process of information production, which is a typical manifestation of the absence of a more or less rigid relationship between production costs and the result of new information and knowledge. In general, as a result of intellectual activity creates a unique product which generates income to its creator in the replication process (propagation material carriers with established information) or reification in goods, capital goods, technology.
For the implementation of information production requires the feedstock — information and knowledge previously created. As an economic resource information has a number of features that distinguish it from the traditional factors of production — land (natural resources), labor, capital. The most important properties are self-expansion in the consumption process, a special uncertainty of its usefulness, no relationship between the initial volume and the volume of new knowledge created knowledge, high mobility, both in space and in terms of spill-over from one to the other without Sciences loss of relevance.
It is important to note that information as an economic resource inherent dichotomy prevalence and rarity [3. с. 419.]. On the one hand, information is easily replicable, not destroyed, but rather in the process of self-rising consumption. At the same time, it is a scarce resource due to the uniqueness of the process of its production and use, the main subject is sticking people. So, now one of the most pressing problems is a strong media pressure on people, increasing the acceleration of the process of accumulation of information and the dissemination of information impact of destructive methods, leading to negative consequences. The accumulated amounts of information and knowledge fail to analyze, create large arrays unnecessary (at least currently), and duplicate information. But along with this there is a need for knowledge that will help to overcome many unsolved problems in the moment, for example, in the field of ecology, medicine and other fields.
In the functioning of information as an economic resource of particular importance are the technical and technological aspects of its use and handling of the economy. It is the development of information and communication technologies (ICT) and computer technology have opened new opportunities for the strategic use of information and knowledge economy, identified reserves of progressive development. «Like any other resource, the information is only useful if we can deliver it to where it is needed». Development of technologies for collecting, processing, storage and dissemination of information, organization of the process of communication stimulated the emergence and widespread diffusion of new forms of business organization as a whole and the individual business processes. Virtual companies, network organizations, multinationals and TNB in its activities based on the effective organization of information exchange, creation and accumulation of knowledge, databases, exchange of knowledge, allowing them to achieve the benefits of innovation that provides a high level of competitiveness.
Information is used as an economic resource in different directions, resulting in a variety of forms of embodiment and ways to create value. Among the main areas should be allocated as follows:
commercialization of information products, services, technologies (creation of high-tech products, intellectual goods, information services, development of new technologies of production and management, etc.);
impact on the subjective perceptions and expectations of economic agents. As examples of the image creation of an information product, company (reputation), the formation needs or impact on them.
Information and knowledge contain reserves increase productivity, optimize the use of other resources. They are becoming increasingly important resource in the modern economy, they represent an important object of the application of intellectual effort. ICT, computer equipment are specific machines of a new stage of economic development — Information predetermining the scope and efficiency of use. At the same time, «the speed with which technology is evolving in a society is determined by the relative level of its ability to absorb and process information» [4. с. 415.].
Increasing importance and widespread economic resources as information and knowledge not only lead to a variety of positive effects, particularly to conserve resources, reduce the burden on the environment, empowering people. There is also a variety of problems inherent in an economy in which information and knowledge are important resources. Thus, the acceleration of technological advances lead to increased pressure on the society, as social as well as economic institutions do not have time to adapt to changes. Information load of people can have a destructive impact on them, the more that happens all the more rigid and purposeful use of methods of information feedback.
The study of information as an economic resource, identifying its role and capacity use in the economy are among the most pressing and complex issues facing economic theory. The ongoing process of informatization, the accumulation of experience in the production of information products, expanding the boundaries of the application information in the economy cause the constant updating of the theoretical and practical bases of operation information.
Thus, we can conclude that the phenomenon of the information economy leads to the transformation of the information resource in the main source of added value, appearance on this basis, opportunities for intensive nature of economic development based on low-cost technologies, including information technology management.
References:
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