ABSTRACT
While the service sector in virtually all developed countries has grown immensely in relative terms, the manufacturing sector, and especially primary production, has shrunk. Even if some of this development can be ascribed to a change in the type of activities carried out within these main sectors-for example, many of the activities of manufacturing firms are actually services-there is no doubt that a real structural change has occurred. For example, knowledge-intensive industries are generally regarded as an engine of growth, and are often considered to be the main part of the manufacturing sector. Similarly, numerous publications have claimed that production is increasingly knowledge-based and dependent on research and development (R & D).
