 Spring/Summer 2005 |
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U.S. Innovative Edge at Risk — In Brief |
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The United States’ share of published science and engineering research papers fell from 38 percent in 1988 to 31 percent in 2001, while other countries gained momentum. Asia’s share of published papers grew from 11 to 17 percent, and Western Europe garnered a 36 percent share in 2001, one-upping the United States. Scientific papers don’t always have immediate commercial applications, but they remain an important benchmark of a country’s knowledge base. “It’s a sign that you have highly skilled people who are producing the necessary knowledge for later applications,” explains Diana Hicks, chair of Georgia Tech’s School of Public Policy. Another shift: When it comes to international collaboration on scientific papers, the United States traditionally has been the go-to country. Yet Asian countries are beginning to collaborate more among themselves. “This makes the United States appear slightly less important – another sign that our dominance is starting to decline,” Hicks says. |
Fewer Foreign Students
More restrictive immigration policies since 9/11 have also taken a toll. The total number of foreign students on U.S. campuses dropped 2.4 percent in the 2003-04 school year – the first decline since 1971-72, according to the Institute for International Education. Surveys by the Council of Graduate Schools show that international graduate applications fell 28 percent in 2004 and 5 percent in 2005, with 6 percent fewer first-time foreign graduate students enrolling last fall. |
"Innovation is a riskier initiative compared to quality management or lean manufacturing. Quality and lean strategies make facilities more productive, so financial savings can occur fairly soon. In contrast, innovation requires significant upfront investment, especially for new products, and rewards are not immediate. Yet while risks may be higher with innovation, so are the rewards. Innovative firms are more profitable, with average return-on-sales being 1 percent higher. What’s more, annual salaries at innovative firms average $10,000 higher than firms competing on low price." – Jan Youtie, senior research associate, Georgia Tech’s Community Research and Policy Services |
Global Competition
"In the past five to 10 years, India and China have entered the mainstream of global competition. And in doing so, they’ve chosen not only to compete at the low end, but also the high-end, which they’re doing with gusto." – G. Wayne Clough, president of the Georgia Institute of Technology
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Mission to Mars?
When the Cold War ended, Americans began to grow complacent about international innovation. Would a large-scale government program, such as President Bush’s “mission to Mars,”
Probably not, says Nils Newman, president of Atlanta-based Intelligent Information Services Corp., who helps companies with technological competitiveness. “For one thing, unlike the race to the moon, there’s no pressing need to go to Mars. Right now, no one is trying to beat us there,” he notes. “When it comes to prestige projects, you have to be careful what you invest in for it to pay off,” Newman adds. “The Cold War us-versus-them mentality is a game that has played itself out.” More likely to stir up public fervor would be the development of an SUV that gets 150 miles-per-gallon of gas, Newman says: “There’s a slight ‘us-versus-them’ element here in terms of our dependency on foreign oil. Yet more importantly, there’s a real market need. Having gone through the oil crunch of the ’70s, we know that Americans aren’t going to give up large vehicles – or drive less.” |
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The New Flat World
"If you had a choice 35 years ago ... to be a B+ student in Los Angeles or a genius in Bangalore, India, you would choose to be a B+ student in Los Angeles. Your life choices and opportunities would be so much better. Today, you do not want to be a B+ student in Los Angeles, because that genius in Bangalore, in a flat world, can plug-and-play, compete and collaborate more directly with you or your kids than ever before." – Thomas Friedman, New York Times columnist |
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Patently Foreign
– OECD’s Compendium of Patent Statistics 2004 |
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Last updated: July 2, 2005