Policy Briefs
Productivity growth really matters. These are the words that reverberated through the halls of the New America Foundation during this morning’s presentation by Dr. James Manyika, a Director at McKinsey Global Institute. To listen to the presentation in its entirety click here.
Dr. Manyika offered a sobering reality of the current economic landscape in the U.S., citing how 
the country has lost twice as many jobs than in any previous recession, and that it would take 200,000 jobs per month in domestic job creation from now until 2017 to realize a 5% unemployment rate. A sobering reality indeed.
But the message of the day was altogether one of optimism and a pathway forward for the American economy as Dr. Manyika laid out seven readily identifiable priorities for the U.S.:
- Drive productivity in regulated and public sectors
- Reinvigorate the innovation economy
- Develop U.S. talent by harnessing full capabilities of the population
- Build 21st century infrastructure to meet the demands of a globally competitive economy
- Enhance the competitiveness of U.S. regulatory and business environment
- Embrace the energy productivity challenge
- Harness regional and local capacities to boost overall US growth and productivity
Based on the research of Manyika and his peers, these principles have been documented in the recently released report Growth and Renewal in the United States: Retooling America’s Economic Engine. Of the findings in the report, perhaps the most prominent is how productivity gains in traditionally laggard sectors can act as a catalyst for revitalizing the economy. Especially in sectors that
are ripe for improved efficiencies (government, health care, retail and transportation), increased competition, integration of information technology and adoption of proven best practices are seen as readily achievable concepts for increasing value-added output on a national scale.
During his presentation Dr. Manyika also brought attention to the reason behind productivity gains of the sixties, attributed primarily to baby boomers and women entering the workforce, and how these drivers will need to be replaced by innovation and efficiencies if the U.S. intends to maintain a foothold in the global economy.
Also in attendance during the forum was U.S. Chief Technology Officer and Associate Director of Technology to the President, Aneesh Chopra. Mr. Chopra expressed the importance of investing in the foundational elements, or so-called seed corn, of American innovation as a means of regaining economic dominance. These elements include education, infrastructure and advanced information technology. To listen to Mr. Chopra’s remarks click here.
Innovating the Green Economy in California Regions
An economic development case for developing an environmentally amenable strategy for growth
Crossing the Next Regional Frontier
Information and analytics linking regional competitiveness to investment in a knowledge-based economy
Regionalism and Clusters for Local Economic Development Needs
Survey results addressing practitioner priorities for organizational and community development, the perception of concepts relating to industrial clustering and regionalism, and the training needs required to drive successful development.
Unlocking Rural Competitiveness: The Role of Regional Clusters
Industry cluster, workforce and demographic indicators for all states and counties nationwide
StatsAmerica.org
Tools offered by the Indiana Business Research Center to help regions guide strategic conversations about where to invest scarce resources in order to build toward prosperity
Revitalizing Rural Economies Through Entrepreneurship Development Systems
A report on the key outcomes from a three-year, W. K. Kellogg Foundation-funded initiative released by the Aspen Institute’s FIELD program. Read the full report
Arts & the Economy: Using Arts and Culture to Stimulate State Economic Development
Report provides concrete examples from states and rural areas across the country on how regional development planners and business leaders can incorporate arts and culture into their long-term economic development strategies
Arts and Humanities Research and Innovation
A 2008 report from Britain’s National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, or “NESTA“, which assesses the distinctive contributions to innovation made by arts and humanities research
