New Research Exposes Why Competition in U.S. Politics Industry is Failing America
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BOSTON— At a time of high dissatisfaction and distrust with the U.S. political system, Katherine M. Gehl and Michael E. Porter today released new research that illuminates the root causes of why competition in politics is failing to serve the public interest. It is delivering gridlock and partisan divisions, not solutions to the nation’s problems. The authors bring a new analytical lens to understand the performance of our political system--the lens of industry competition, which has been used for decades to understand competition and performance in other industries. Click here to read full report. “The politics industry is a classic duopoly with two dominant competitors. The parties focus on serving their partisan supporters and special interests, not the average voter, ” said Katherine Gehl, a former CEO, who has also worked in government and is now dedicated to driving political innovation and reform. “This report is not about adding to the depressing national dialog about politics, but about how to understand how the political system actually works and change it through reforms that will matter.” “I was drawn to analyze the U.S. political system as an industry when our research found that our political system is the biggest impediment to U.S. competitiveness,” said Harvard’s Porter, who is based at Harvard Business School and co-chair of the School’s U.S. Competitiveness Project. “Our dysfunctional political outcomes are a competition problem. Politics is an industry that sets its own rules. Over time, it has shaped the nature of competition to advance the interests of political parties and their industry allies rather than serve the public interest.” Porter and Gehl apply Professor Porter’s renowned Five Forces analysis to diagnose the fundamental structural issues ailing the U.S. political system and how it has evolved. The duopoly is protected by huge barriers to entry that have not only blocked major new parties but also independents and moderates. The research provides a litmus test to judge which powerful and achievable political reforms should be pursued. Our political system will not be self-correcting. Gehl and Porter lay out a strategy, with specific, actionable reforms, for reinvigorating our democracy by shifting the very nature of competition. For nearly six years, the U.S. Competitiveness Project has conducted in-depth research to identify the necessary steps policymakers and the business community must take to improve U.S. competitiveness. Based on research and surveys of global business leaders, Porter and others in a report last fall identified the U.S. political system as the biggest barrier to improving U.S. competitiveness, a finding that heightens the importance of the research released today. Click here to read full report. About Katherine M. Gehl: About Michael E. Porter: |
Victoria Zarella
Victoria.Zarella@Edelman.com
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