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.
America’s labor market has entered a “new normal” phrase. Although the unemployment rate has declined after the Great Recession, underemployment remains a major problem and the percentage of workers stuck in part-time jobs is well above historical norms. Yet, at the same time, employers are posting a record number of positions. Professor Joseph Fuller suggests that resolving this paradox will require education institutions and employers to adopt a new approach to skills training.
Superintendents find new, deeper ways to work with business beyond a financial gift.
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.
How can business leaders best partner with educators to transform America's schools?
By: Christian Ketels
A new framing of competitiveness clarifies the role of regions.
Some of the world’s most original thinkers explain the competitiveness challenge America faces and point the way forward.
Manufacturing matters to a nation’s economic prosperity, not because it is an important source of jobs (it currently represents only about 10% of US employment) but because manufacturing competence is often an integral part of innovation. By Professors Gary P. Pisano and Willy C. Shih.
For decades, U.S. companies have been outsourcing manufacturing in the belief that it held no competitive advantage. That has been a disaster.