Higher Education and the Future of U.S. Competitiveness

Competitiveness has become a buzzword recently. Nearly every day in the press we read accounts of “America’s competitiveness crisis,” our “innovation shortfall,” or how the United States is “losing its edge.” A growing number of Americans from all walks of life and all political persuasions worry that the rise of emerging economies threatens our continuing prosperity. These concerns have led to a flood of reports during the past few years charting America’s putative decline and proposing a range of solutions. The need for action—and the recent sense of urgency—was neatly crystallized by Thomas Friedman’s 2005 book The World Is Flat. As incomes have stagnated, many have pointed the finger at offshoring, seeing in the rapid rise of India and China the explanation for the struggles of working Americans.