SSTI Digest

U.S. intellectual property (IP)-intensive industries employ at least 27.9 million workers and contributed more than $6.6 trillion dollars (38.2 percent) to U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2014, according to Intellectual Property and the U.S. Economy: 2016 Update. In this update to a 2012 report, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA) identified 81 industries (from among 313 total) as IP-intensive including trademark-intensive, copyright-intensive, and patent-intensive industries. In addition to the direct jobs, IP-intensive industries also indirectly supported 17.6 million more supply chain jobs throughout the economy. In total, IP-intensive industries directly and indirectly supported 45.5 million jobs, about 30 percent of all employment. In the study, an industry is designated as IP-intensive if its IP-count to employment ratio is higher than the average for all industries considered. D The report also shows that private wage and salary workers in IP-intensive industries earn significantly more than those in non-IP-intensive industries. In 2014, workers in IP-intensive industries earned an…

For academics and practitioners involved in economic development, quantifying the vibrancy of a regional innovation system can be a challenging experience.  To support these efforts, new research by authors from Cleveland-based venture development organization Jumpstart and Cleveland State University’s Center for Economic Development seeks to do two things: identify key indicators – a grouping of measures representing a broader concept – for describing a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem, and establish which of these indicators are most valuable for entrepreneurs. Ultimately, the authors find that three broad indicators – innovation, centers of commerce, and small business hubs – can help measure entrepreneurial ecosystem vitality in a region. To inform their analysis, the authors start with a framework developed in Kauffman Foundation research on “Measuring an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem.” This theoretical framework identifies 12 measures across four indicators: density, fluidity, connectivity, and diversity. The authors interviewed 31 entrepreneurs to determine the importance of these four indicators. From the…

In 2016, approximately 46.7 percent of small- and medium-sized manufacturing firms (SMMs) receiving services from Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers expect challenges in the next three years related to employee recruitment, up from 19.1 percent in 2009, according to a recent survey of MEP client companies. While employee recruitment needs have grown over the last seven years, the top two challenges remained the same – cost reduction (70 percent of all respondents in 2016) and growth (53.5 percent). The findings come from an annual NIST MEP survey of their clients – small manufacturers across the United States. While many of the challenges have decreased or at least remained level over the last seven years, the share of clients citing technology needs as a challenge rose by 4 percentage points — from roughly 10 percent in 2009 to over 14 percent in 2016. In good news, the share of clients identifying financing as a challenge fell from 18 percent in 2009 to under 10 percent in 2016. Other issues faced by MEP client companies include: product development (45.4 percent); sustainability (21 percent); managing partners (13…

Before, during, and since the 2016 presidential election, there has been considerable discussion on whether trade or automation is responsible for America’s long-term loss in manufacturing employment. A December New York Times article highlights several examples of studies finding automation has been the key perpetrator.  Recent research from Adams Nager of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), however, pins the problem on trade and competition. ITIF suggests that roughly two-thirds of the 5.7 million U.S. manufacturing jobs lost between 2000 and 2010 were a result of international trade pressure and wavering U.S. competitiveness. As economist Paul Krugman recently noted, accounts stating that either trade or automation are the cause can both be accurate and are not necessarily contradictory. In Trade vs. Productivity: What Caused U.S. Manufacturing's Decline and How to Revive It, Nager highlights two areas where statistical research showing that automation and productivity growth are the primary causes of manufacturing job losses may be misguided. First, Nager says that productivity growth in manufacturing compared to the rest of…

C2ER is sharing a letter to Congress that describes the value of federal data collection and publication, including the census, employment information, R&D spending and much more, for private- and public-sector decision making, individual choice and democratic institutions. If you agree with this sentiment, you can complete a form with the Association of Public Data Users to have your name, title and affiliation added to the letter in support of continuing this critical information source.

Leadership in the data economy should be a target for the state of North Carolina, according to a new report by the North Carolina Board of Science, Technology and Innovation (BSTI). As more economic value is placed on the ability to successfully collect and manipulate data for insight and profit, the state needs to focus on closer collaboration, proactive branding and a greater focus on data science education and talent development, according to the report, NC in the Next Tech Tsunami: Navigating the Data Economy. Fast growth, high wages, the need for talent, improved rural economics and more competitive industries are all cited as top reasons for the state to target the data economy. The report identifies state assets in the data economy such as companies like SAS and Red Hat headquartered in the state, programs at the state’s public and private universities, and a vibrant entrepreneurial environment, among other things. To become a top state in the data economy, the report recommends that the state should: Elevate the data economy to the top tier of economic development priorities; Grow and support the data science startup ecosystem across the state…

Entrepreneurship is on the rebound following a “Great Recession hangover,” according to a new study by the Kauffman Foundation, but turbulent shifts will affect its shape in the coming years. During its eighth annual State of Entrepreneurship address in Washington D.C. this morning, Wendy Guillies, Kauffman president and CEO, outlined how, despite the resurgence, new firm formation remains in a long-term deficit and called for a “national wakeup call.” The Kauffman report, Zero Barriers: Three Mega Trends Shaping the Future of Entrepreneurship, reveals three trends it says are fundamentally reshaping entrepreneurship in America: New demographics: while the U.S. is becoming more racially diverse, that diversity is not reflected in entrepreneurs with underrepresentation of women and minority groups hurting the economy by reducing the number of businesses and jobs they would create. New map of entrepreneurship: entrepreneurial endeavors are increasingly taking place in urban and suburban areas and less frequently in smaller metros and rural areas. New nature of entrepreneurship: technology has made the activity of starting and scaling up a…

In the latest round of state budget proposals, TBED initiatives receive mixed reviews. Some governors are boosting funding while others in cash-strapped states are proposing cuts. Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley’s FY 2018 budget would boost spending on education, provide government workers a cost of living adjusted raise, and remove the sales tax on groceries. Notable for technology-based economic development is $2.9 million for the Alabama Innovation Fund in FY 2018, an increase of 20.1 percent from FY 2017. The fund operates two programs: a renewal program, which helps support university high technology infrastructure, and a research program, which allocates funding for commercialization and university-industry partnerships.   Additionally, the Alabama Technology Network would receive $4.9 million in FY 2018, the same as it received in the previous fiscal year. Connecticut Faced with a $1.7 billion deficit, Gov. Dannel Malloy’s $20 billion FY 2018-2019 biennial budget includes little in the way of new funding. The state’s Department of Economic and Community Development would receive $29.9 million in FY 2018 and $29.3…

With the latest round of state of the state or budget addresses, the states’ governors focused on their states’ financial situation. Education and economic development were still on the minds of leaders in Maine, Maryland, and Texas. With this fifth installment, less than 10 governors have yet to deliver their addresses in the coming weeks or months. Maine Gov. Paul R. LePage began his state of the state commenting that the state’s economy and way of life “are under attack.” In his proposals to keep young people in the state and increase higher wages he focused on higher education: “We are also reducing the cost of higher education. We have increased funding to the University of Maine System, the Maine Community College System and Maine Maritime Academy to help control tuition cost. “We want to make it easier for young people to stay in Maine. I will once again propose funding for zero-interest loans for all higher ed students who decide to live and work in Maine. “We are trying to attract small businesses and successful young professionals. We need creative innovators with an entrepreneurial…

A multi-decade study shows a 12 percent increase on the math and science ACT for high school students in Wisconsin whose parents were provided with information on how to effectively convey the importance of STEM to their children, according to the UChicago News. The report also finds that the same students were more likely to take high school STEM classes. The researchers highlight that the increased STEM coursework in high school led to increases in college STEM class enrollment and careers. In the study, Utility-Value Intervention with Parents Increases Students' STEM Preparation and Career Pursuit, researchers from multiple institutions of higher education provided Wisconsin parents with informational materials that would help the parents talk to their high school aged children on the relevance of STEM fields. The informational materials covered issues such as the role of math and science in how cell phones work or how the subjects factor into specific careers.  

Canada is targeting innovation to drive economic prosperity through several recently announced investments. These investments are intended to unlock the potential of Canadian universities and entrepreneurs as well as capital for startups. The provincial government of Ontario has also unveiled several tech-based economic development efforts. In addition to these newly announced efforts, the Trudeau administration released a series of economic development-related policy recommendations to support economic growth across the country. Canadian federal government efforts In early January, the Canada Foundation for Innovation announced $328 million to support 17 key national facilities that cover a broad range of research disciplines including $48 million for the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan; $46.6 million for the University of Victoria-run Ocean Networks Canada; and, $32 million for the Canada’s Genomics Enterprise – a three-institution collaboration. The largest announcement was $70 million for Compute Canada to improve access to high-speed computing at institutions across the country. As part of a national…

While economic dynamism has powered U.S. prosperity for generations, it is now declining in nearly every definition of the term, according to new research from the D.C.-based think-tank and advocacy organization Economic Innovation Group (EIG). In Dynamism in Collapse, an analysis of economic conditions from 1977 to 2014, EIG finds that dynamism has decreased substantially, as seen in diminishing rates of job turnover, the share of employment in new companies, and the percentage of the population moving across state lines. This eroding dynamism, the report finds, has led to considerable challenges for regions, markets, and workers. While the rate of business closures has remained steady over the timeline analyzed, EIG finds that the rate of new business formation has plummeted, an effect exacerbated by the great recession. This marked the first time in American history, according to EIG, that companies died at a faster rate than they were born. EIG suggests that this declining dynamism has led to more geographic inequality, as many regions see historically low levels of new business starts. Overall, six out of seven regions failed to keep pace with the national startup…