A Primer on Social Knowledge

The purpose of this study is to elucidate and appreciate the growing importance of social knowledge in economic systems. It is thoroughly evident that socially available information as a variable is being employed in economic modeling—and, social concepts and principles are being increasingly employed to model economic systems. Despite the growing importance of social elements in economic theory and modeling, there appears to be a general lack of appreciation and understanding effected by fallacy of about what constitutes social knowledge in particular, and social information in general, and then, why there should be social elements included in economic systems. The goal of this paper, therefore, is to undertake a formal analysis of the theory of social knowledge based on Kenneth Arrow's (1994) paper, and to explain why this is so relevant in modern economic systems. This study, therefore, attempts to demonstrate understanding of the concept of social knowledge in its present context—the digital age, with the aim of advancing knowledge in this field. Finally, the study also provides general knowledge about the subject of social knowledge in the context of economic growth.