Search

Globalisation is profoundly changing economic development, forcing development officials to adopt a regional approach founded on what a particular region does best or its competitive advantage. Globalisation has also placed a new premium on innovation as the critical fuel to economic success -- for firms, regions and countries. Universities lie at the nexus of these two powerful trends: they are rooted in regions, and they are perhaps the most important engines of innovation. Drawing on recent experience in the United States, this paper explores this nexus by addressing three critical questions: 1) Why is regional competitiveness the new paradigm for regional development? 2) What must regions do to compete? 3) What can be done to connect university innovation with regional development? The paper concludes that new mechanisms are needed to connect university innovation with regional development. Public policy can encourage these mechanisms by addressing twin needs in the newly forming "market" for regional innovation: encouraging universities to make innovation available in ways that regions can easily tap, and helping regions understand which innovations are most critical to their economic future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a discussion of the performance of the U.S. Federal Reserve System, adapted from a working paper published by libertarian think tank Cato Institute. Topics explored include the failure of the agency to improve economic stability of the country, the efforts launched by the Federal Reserve to address the 2008 financial crisis, and the capital regulations for commercial banks implemented by the agency in collaboration with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

The article reflects on the paper "Workers and the World Economy," by Ethan B. Kapstein, which appeared in the May 1996 issue. The main obstacle to economic growth is tax codes, which are not only means of raising revenue but also prices. Regulations and labor restrictions have become burdensome to the economy in Europe, as well as in the U.S. Growing income inequality is more of a social phenomenon than an economic one.

A discussion is presented on the article "Is U.S. Economic Growth Over? Faltering Innovation Confronts the Six Headwinds," by Robert J. Gordon, originally published in the "NBER Working Papers" journal from August 2012. Topics include the relationship between economic growth and living standards in the U.S., the economic effects of historical industrial revolutions, technological and economic forecasting, and labor productivity during the information technology and digital revolution.

The article focuses on a paper by researchers James Hamilton, Ethan Harris, Jan Hatzius, and Kenneth West, published by the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, which dealt with secular stagnation, a type of economic stagnation stemming from a lack of investment. Topics include if the U.S. is experiencing secular stagnation and the economic recovery of the U.S. after the global financial crisis.

The article contends that local government finance officers have an important role to play in economic development in the U.S. The key objective of the creation of the Committee on Economic Development and Capital Planning under the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) is discussed. An overview of a research paper on economic sustainability, issued by the GFOA, is presented.