Fostering Growth through Innovation

As the nation enters a contentious presidential election year, the economy continues to struggle, unemployment levels remain high, and partisan divides impede efforts to create new jobs and bring record budget deficits under control while sustaining long-term economic growth.

After Strobe Talbott and Glenn Hutchins (Silver Lake) introduce the event, Gary Burtless, Klaus Kleinfeld (Alcoa), and Andrew Liveris (The Dow Chemical Company) discuss economic growth and job creation in a panel moderated by Alice Rivlin.

John Bryson, Secretary of the Department of Commerce, discusses the role of the department in encouraging innovation, and answers questions in a session moderated by Bruce Katz.

Dominic Barton (McKinsey & Company) and Thomas Connelly (DuPont) discuss advanced industries and exports in a panel moderated by Bruce Katz.

William Galston, Peter Grauer (Bloomberg L.P.), and Ted Leonsis (Monumental Sports and Entertainment) discuss new media, information technology and institutional reform in a panel moderated by Darrell West.

Leo Gerard (United Steelworkers), Elisabeth Jacobs, and John Surma (United States Steel) discuss global competition and American jobs in a panel moderated by Martin Baily.

Alan Berube, Shirley Jackson (Rensselaer), Judith Rodin (Rockefeller Foundation), and Robert Rubin (The CFR) discuss innovation at the local and state levels in a panel moderated by Michael Greenstone. Glenn Hutchins provides closing remarks.

On January 13, the Brookings Institution gathered the CEOs of leading U.S. businesses for a day-long series of panels addressing job creation, economic competitiveness, and innovations in technology. The program included state and federal experts who discussed strategies reaching from local innovation to global competition, and addressed ideas for reducing the budget deficit without undermining strategies to revitalize the economy. Brookings experts led discussions on a broad range of strategies for fostering growth and innovation.

Following each panel, the participants took questions from the audience.

This event was live tweeted using the hashtag #BIJobCreation.

Download papers from the event:

• The Immediate Jobs Crisis and Our Long-Run Labor Market Problem, by Gary Burtless and Adam Looney
• Political Dysfunction and Economic Decline, by William A. Galston
• Lessons for the United States from the German Labor Market Miracle, by Elisabeth Jacobs
• Identifying and Responding to the U.S. Metropolitan Employment Crisis, by Alan Berube