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A recent National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) working paper, Immigrant Entrepreneurship: New Estimates and a Research Agenda provides fresh insights into the growth and characteristics of immigrant-founded firms across the United States. The study also outlines directions for future research in this field.

Key findings from the authors’ statistical analysis include:

• In a sample of 25 states, immigrants’ representation among top earners in new firms rose from 22.5% in 2003 to 28.9% in 2020.
• Nearly two-thirds of this growth came from a general rise in immigrant entrepreneurship across all regions in the sample rather than concentrated booms in specific states.
• The overall share of immigrant entrepreneurship increased from 18.7% in 2007 to 24.2% in 2019.

In this Digest issue, SSTI continues its examination on the state of higher education. Today, we start with rising student loan debt, which research shows has dire consequences on borrowers, including delayed home ownership, hindered retirement savings, and financial stress.

Total student loan debt in the United States increased 558% from the first quarter of 2003 to the second quarter of 2024, increasing from $240 billion to $1.58 trillion, according to Federal Reserve Bank of New York data. However, as seen in Figure 1, the rate of change has remained essentially flat since the first quarter of 2021, coinciding with a dip in undergraduate enrollment and federal loan forgiveness programs totaling nearly $160 billion, as the U.S. Department of Education reported.

While production of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles are expected to decline from 12 million in 2023 to 5.2 million in 2029 and battery electric vehicles (BEVs), powered exclusively by an electric battery, would increase from 1.1 million to 7.3 million vehicles during the same period, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago concludes the change is unlikely to cause much change in the geographic location of automobile manufacturers, according to an Economics Perspectives paper. The paper's authors investigated what impact, if any, such a change in the number of types of vehicles produced would have on the locations where cars are manufactured. They concluded that the changeover to manufacturing electric vehicles (EVs) should not cause much disruption to the geographic location of automobile manufacturers.

The Economic Development Administration has released the 2024 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for its Build to Scale program. With $50 million in available funding, the program continues to support regional commercialization, entrepreneurship, and capital formation efforts. This year’s competition, however, comes with a restructured application process and updated evaluation criteria.

Quantum technologies are revolutionizing sensors, computation, and communication, according to an article from the World Economic Forum.

This reality is inspiring many states to build foundations for reaping the economic benefits of these technologies. This year, several states, including Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, South Carolina and South Dakota have passed legislation, provided new funding or have launched new quantum initiatives.

With classes resuming for the fall term, SSTI continues its reflection on the state of higher education. In last week's issue, today's and next week's, we’re examining where higher ed has been and where it currently stands. The post-secondary education system is the cornerstone of the American innovation system—as an R&D performer, moving research into the marketplace, offering technical assistance to companies, and supplying a skilled workforce. The challenges are significant—eroding public support for universities, cuts to state funding during each economic downturn that takes years to recover, and burgeoning tuition and student debt.
 
In today’s issue, we consider public attitudes toward higher education and its value. Attitudes have changed over time, from thinking of a college education as something for the wealthy to thinking that all high school graduates should go to college and now back to a growing opinion that not everyone needs to go to college. We also consider different societal contexts that have influenced public attitudes toward higher education, such as the rising costs of attending, the expected return on investment, and political affiliation.

Public perceptions of higher education are complex and multifaceted. A Chronicle of Higher Education 2023 report found that while Americans believe in the value of a college credential, they are not convinced higher education is fulfilling its promise to society; nonetheless, many recent polls, surveys, and reports also conclude that people, whether they have a four-year degree or not, would advise others to pursue one. Respondents are mixed on whether they think four-year institutions do a good job educating their students—or that colleges and universities greatly benefit graduates. Alternatives like trade schools or community colleges appear to many Americans as a viable path to a successful livelihood. However, colleges’ value to communities and society draws skepticism. Overall, the Chronicle found that respondents felt higher education is important for individual attainment, but not necessarily for the greater good.

With classes resuming for the fall term, SSTI thought now would be a good time to reflect on the state of higher education. In this issue and the September 5 issue, we’ll examine where higher ed has been and where it currently stands. The post-secondary education system is the cornerstone of the American innovation system—as R&D performer, moving research into the marketplace, offering technical assistance to companies, and supplying a skilled workforce. The challenges are significant—eroding public support for universities, cuts to state funding during each economic downturn that takes years to recover, and burgeoning tuition and student debt.

Earlier this month, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) released Open for Business: Illinois' 2024 Economic Growth Plan, a comprehensive five-year plan to guide the state’s economic development priorities, strategies, and initiatives. It emphasizes innovation, focusing on burgeoning fields, such as quantum computing, and aims to nurture high-growth sectors like the life sciences, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing while providing a 21st-century workforce equipped to meet the demands of those rapidly evolving industries.

In 2000, the United States was among the global leaders in educational attainment, boasting the third-highest percentage of its 25- to-64-year-old population with a postsecondary degree across the 38 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations. However, over the past two decades, the U.S. has gradually slipped in the rankings, falling to ninth place by 2022 even as the percentage of the population with a postsecondary degree increased from 36% to 50%. As international competitors like Japan, Canada, South Korea, and the United Kingdom continue to outpace the U.S.’ growth, the U.S. faces many challenges in maintaining its competitive edge in an increasingly educated world.