Measuring Innovation and Change During Turbulent Economic Times

Registration for this event is now closed.

Notwithstanding the large volume of high quality macroeconomic data published by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and other government agencies, our nation continues to face important challenges associated with the measurement of our standard of living and turning points in our economy. For example, the recent recession has highlighted important measurement issues in the financial and housing areas. In addition, the National Income and Product Accounts continue to lack comprehensive metrics of the contributions to economic activity from innovation and entrepreneurial activity, although the BEA and allied government and private sector organizations are moving ahead to address these shortcomings through the incorporation of more information on innovation and entrepreneurship.

On November 17, a day-long conference co-sponsored by Brookings and the Heritage Foundation will explore the measurement challenges associated with the recession, particularly in the financial and housing sectors; how innovation can become a standard component of our national accounting system, and how incorporating innovation metrics will aid the development of a unified picture of the sources of growth and economic disruption.