In 2011, HBS faculty came together to launch the U.S. Competitiveness Project. Based on a definition of competitiveness as the ability of firms operating in the U.S. to compete successfully in the global economy while supporting high and rising living standards for Americans, the faculty gathered data on the key aspects of competitiveness and took deep dives into various topics that have a profound impact on competitiveness. In March 2012, the Harvard Business Review published a special issue on “Restoring U.S. Competitiveness,” which gathered research by faculty on a diverse set of issues relevant to improving and sustaining U.S. economic prospects.

Since the Project’s launch, we have conducted surveys and released publications related to core issues of U.S. competitiveness:

  • Alumni surveys: Through four global surveys of HBS alumni, we have asked business leaders to assess the state and trajectory of U.S. competitiveness and to evaluate elements of the business environment that drive national competitiveness. In each survey, we have also taken deep dives into particular, timely topics: government dysfunction, political polarization, and tax reform in 2016; entrepreneurship and shared prosperity in 2015; education, workforce skills, and transportation infrastructure in 2013-2014; federal policy priorities and business actions to enhance competitiveness in 2012; and business location decisions in 2011.
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  • “Restoring U.S. Competitiveness”: This special issue of the Harvard Business Review includes contributions from a diverse group of faculty members on topics essential to U.S. competitiveness, including entrepreneurship, finance, fiscal policy, manufacturing, and the political system.
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  • “What Business Leaders Should Do to Restore U.S. Competitiveness”: In this Fortune article, Project co-chairs Michael Porter and Jan Rivkin discuss ways that businesses can take the lead in restoring U.S. competitiveness.
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  • “What Washington Must Do Now: An Eight-Point Plan to Restore American Competitiveness”: In this article in The Economist, Michael Porter and Jan Rivkin identify eight strategic priorities for the president and Congress that would be transformational to America’s economic prospects.
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  • Elements of U.S. competitiveness: In 2013, HBS faculty began researching different elements of U.S. competitiveness, including PK-12 education, transportation infrastructure, middle skills, and unconventional energy. To take a look at these topics, please see our research tracks.
Research
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  • Dec 2019
  • Survey

A Recovery Squandered

By: Michael E. Porter, Jan W. Rivkin, Mihir A. Desai, Katherine M. Gehl, William R. Kerr, with Manjari Raman
In 2019, HBS faculty members of the U.S. Competitiveness Project conducted the sixth survey on U.S. competitiveness. This report—built on the latest survey findings and eight years of prior research on the competitiveness of the United States—highlights a disturbing pattern: structural failures in the U.S. political system continue to prevent meaningful progress on actions needed to improve U.S. competitiveness. Despite a decade of steady economic growth, the trajectory of the nation’s competitiveness remains disappointing.
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  • Sep 2017
  • Report

Why Competition in the Politics Industry is Failing America

By: Katherine M. Gehl and Michael E. Porter
The lens of industry competition helps diagnose why the U.S. political system is failing to deliver results for the average American. A Five Forces analysis explores the nature of competition in the politics industry, identifies the root causes of poor political outcomes for customers (citizens), and provides a strategic framework to determine reforms that are powerful and achievable.
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  • Sep 2016
  • Survey

Problems Unsolved & A Nation Divided

By: Michael E. Porter, Jan W. Rivkin, and Mihir A. Desai, with Manjari Raman
The 2016 HBS report on the State of U.S. Competitiveness provides a comprehensive analysis of five years of research from the U.S. Competitiveness Project along with the findings of the 2016 HBS survey on U.S. competitiveness. This survey was administered to HBS alumni worldwide, HBS students, and members of the U.S. general public in May—June 2016.
  • Jan 2016
  • Video

Video: The Challenge of Shared Prosperity

By: Michael Porter and Jan Rivkin
Professor Michael E. Porter and Professor Jan W. Rivkin discuss the findings of Harvard Business School’s 2015 Alumni Survey on U.S. Competitiveness, The Challenge of Shared Prosperity. Alumni are optmistic about the ability of U.S. firms to compete globally, but they doubt that firms will be able to lift the living standards of the average American.
  • Nov 2015
  • Audio

Prospects for Shared Prosperity: Findings from the 2015 Alumni Survey on U.S. Competitiveness

By: Jan W. Rivkin
America’s leading companies are thriving, but the prosperity they are producing is not being shared broadly among U.S. citizens. Jan W. Rivkin presents results of HBS's 2015 Alumni Survey on U.S. Competitiveness.
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  • Sep 2015
  • Report

Growth & Shared Prosperity

By: Karen G. Mills with contributions from Joseph B. Fuller and Jan W. Rivkin
In June 2015, nearly 75 experienced leaders from across business, government, labor, academia, and media gathered at Harvard Business School to discuss a topic of increasing concern in America: How can our nation continue to remain competitive while also providing a path to prosperity for more citizens? This report highlights the group’s deliberations and summarizes the HBS research that was presented during the convening.
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  • Sep 2015
  • Survey

The Challenge of Shared Prosperity

By: Jan W. Rivkin, Karen G. Mills, and Michael E. Porter, with contributions from Michael I. Norton and Mitchell B. Weiss
The 2015 HBS survey on U.S. competitiveness reveals that business leaders are concerned about the economy’s ability to generate shared prosperity. America’s business environment is improving, but alumni doubt that firms in the U.S. will be able to improve living standards for the average American. Alumni see issues like inequality, middle-class stagnation, and economic immobility, as social as well as business challenges.
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  • Sep 2014
  • Survey

An Economy Doing Half Its Job

Re: Michael E. Porter and Jan W. Rivkin, with contributions from Joseph B. Fuller, Allen S. Grossman, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, and Kevin W. Sharer
This report presents the findings of HBS' 2013–14 survey on U.S. competitiveness. It highlights a troubling divergence in the U.S. economy: large and midsize firms are prospering, but middle- and working-class citizens and small businesses are struggling.
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  • Feb 2013
  • Survey

Competitiveness at a Crossroads

By: Michael E. Porter, Jan W. Rivkin, and Rosabeth Moss Kanter
Second in the series of U.S. Competitiveness surveys, Harvard Business School gleaned responses from nearly 7,000 alumni and more than 1,000 members of the general public.
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  • Nov 2012
  • The Economist

What Washington Must Do Now: An Eight-Point Plan to Restore American Competitiveness

By: Michael E. Porter and Jan Rivkin
Policy steps for the president and Congress to follow in order to make American companies more competitive and their employees more prosperous.
  • Oct 2012
  • Fortune

What Business Should Do to Restore U.S. Competitiveness

By: Michael E. Porter and Jan W. Rivkin
Business leaders should not simply accept the business environment as a given, set by government. They can—and should—enhance the commons in ways that boost their own long-run profits.
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  • Mar 2012
  • Harvard Business Review

Special Report: Restoring U.S. Competitiveness

Some of the world’s most original thinkers explain the competitiveness challenge America faces and point the way forward.
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  • Jan 2012
  • Survey

Prosperity at Risk

By: Michael E. Porter and Jan W. Rivkin
As part of the U.S. Competitiveness Project, Harvard Business School asked its alumni to complete an in-depth survey on U.S. competitiveness.