This primer is intended as a brief guide to the Knowledge Economy for people in business and government who need a succinct summary of its major features and implications. It has been prepared by Professors John Houghton and Peter Sheehan of Victoria University's Centre for Strategic Economic Research (CSES), who have drawn on research undertaken at CSES over the last few years, on the work of the OECD and on a rapidly growing international literature. It aims to provide a synthesis of this body of work in digestible form.