Competitiveness research at Brookings addresses a range of critical issues, including offshoring, trade, worker adjustment programs, education policy, infrastructure, research and development policies, technology and human capital development.
At the core of competitiveness research lies our work on globalization. This research draws on the cross-cutting work of our Global Economy and Development and Economic Studies programs, and explores the impacts of off-shoring both in the U.S. and internationally.
The Bernard L. Schwartz Forum on U.S. Competitiveness focuses on critical economic competitiveness challenges and opportunities, including investments in research and development, innovation, and education, the rise of emerging economies and the future of the U.S. manufacturing industry. The forum gathers business executives and entrepreneurs, policy-makers, labor leaders, and academics to explore working solutions to the challenge of maintaining the leading competitiveness of the U.S. economy. The
most recent forum was a public symposium that explored the challenges and opportunities for new infrastructure investment. Schwartz, retired chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Loral Space & Communications, wanted the forums to serve as a platform for broad public discussion. The
first forum, held in April 2006, opened with a discussion on U.S. education, innovation and research and development; the
second forum addressed America’s standing in the field of science and technology as it relates to economic competitiveness.
The Hamilton Project aims to generate innovative, cutting-edge and evidence-based policy ideas to promote economic growth and ensure American workers and firms remain competitive in the new global economy. The initiative is founded on the premise that economic growth that leaves most Americans behind is ultimately unsustainable and that, in many areas, our current policies are not commensurate with the challenges we face.
Global Economy and Development is undertaking a variety of initiatives on strengthening U.S. competitiveness. As the newest chapter of globalization presents unprecedented shifts in the global distribution of power, resources and population, countries are finding it increasingly difficult to compete by following previous policies. Additionally, the traditional arenas for international rule-setting, such as World Trade Organization, are increasingly bypassed in favor of bilateral and regional arrangements. The U.S. and other nations must examine policies with an eye towards the burgeoning global middle class, strains and opportunities in the international financial system and the new emerging powers.
Remaining competitive in the new global landscape therefore demands an understanding of the new global playing field and its rapid evolution. Global Economy and Development analyzes the consequences of this historic new wave of globalization and posits key policy recommendations for the United States, while also addressing international effects and challenges.
The Metropolitan Policy Program emphasizes the ways in which U.S. competitiveness depends on the success of its metropolitan areas. The location of industries and workers in U.S. metropolitan areas is key to their productivity. In addition, such drivers of national productivity as transportation, education and training are provided largely by state and local governments, often with a metropolitan orientation. The program’s research shows how federal, state and local policy that takes into account these geographic determinants of economic performance can lead to better national economic performance.
Metro's Blueprint for American Prosperity has and will continue to produce bold new federal policies in such areas of innovation, human capital and transportation that draw on the economic potential of our metropolitan areas to leverage national economic growth. In addition to showing how these policy changes can improve national competitiveness, Metro's research also shows how broad national policies that affect American competitiveness have differential impacts on the economic well-being of metropolitan areas.