ABSTRACT
Paul Romer is usually credited with introducing theory of knowledge in the early 1990s and it continues to evolve and mature as theorists work to define its many aspects and components. The theory began as a theory about economic growth and was immediately applied to the development of poor countries. It became apparent fairly quickly that it was the dynamics of knowledge rather than the accumulation of knowledge that created momentum forward for communities and societies. The notion that ideas lead the development of societies did not appear revolutionary at first. After all, most industrial products begin with an idea. Mirowski's brilliant and comprehensive chapter did a good job of summarizing the early challenges to neoclassical theory. The various explanations of how knowledge worked within neoclassical economics could not proceed without threatening the entire neoclassical paradigm: The challenge to neoclassical economics was recognized early on and the theory made little progress at first.
