The Codification Debate Revisited: A Conceptual Framework to Analyze the Role of Tacit Knowledge in Economics

Abstract

In the last years, a codification debate has developed among economists concerning the meaning and the empirical relevance of tacit knowledge. As this debate seems to have reached an impasse, we suggest a solution to take it a step further that is based on a more precise definition of tacit knowledge and a clear conceptualization of codification. Moreover, as different types of tacit knowledge can be characterized, we also proceed to demonstrate that the issue of codifiability cannot be adequately addressed without accounting for these differences.