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.
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.
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.
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.
Is there a credit gap in small business lending?
A printable version of the report on the February 2014 AOTM National Summit.
Prepared as background for the America on the Move National Summit and used to identify experts, viewpoints, and data sources.
This overview describes how the United States funds and finances infrastructure investment to maintain its economic competitiveness.
The U.S. air transportation system flies high on some indicators, mostly involving capacity to take to the air, but lands low on others, mostly involving ground facilities and processes.
It is impossible to discuss national competitiveness without considering cities and the regions they anchor.
In the 20th century, automobiles and airlines pushed rail into the background as an often-troubled and neglected mode.
This case explores the motivation behind P-TECH (a growing skills gap), how it was developed along with the challenges, and the attention generated by the unique school design.
This case explores the challenges and complications of replicating P-TECH.
The United States federal government’s current and projected fiscal deficits are not sustainable.
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.
Some of the world’s most original thinkers explain the competitiveness challenge America faces and point the way forward.
Innovation, the classic basis for U.S. success in world markets, rests on foundational institutions, such as research centers, incubators for entrepreneurs, and skills training vehicles, that provide fertile soil in which to seed, grow, and renew enterprises, writes Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter.
Across the political spectrum, there is consensus that the United States faces challenges to its competitiveness. Current U.S. fiscal policy is, unfortunately, part of the problem rather than the solution, according to Professors Richard H.K. Vietor and Matthew C. Weinzierl.
Professors Josh Lerner and William A. Sahlman explore the role of entrepreneurial ventures in addressing pressing problems like energy, the environment, healthcare, and education, while also driving productivity and domestic job growth in the U.S.