Universities, the US High Tech Advantage, and the Process of Globalization

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“Research universities throughout the world are part of a larger effort by nation-states to bolster science and technological innovation and compete economically,” notes John Aubrey Douglass in a new CSHE study entitled “Universities, the US High Tech Advantage, and the Process of Globalization.” The US remains highly competitive as a source of High Tech (HT) innovation because of a number of market positions, he notes, many, the result of long term investments in institutions such as research universities and in R&D funding, and more broadly influenced by a political culture that has tended to support entrepreneurs and risk taking. In essence, the US was the first mover in pursuing the nexus of science and economic policy.

Douglass places universities within this larger political and policy environment by discussing market factors that have influenced knowledge accumulation and HT innovation in the US, their current saliency in the face of globalization, and the growing market position of competitors, such as the EU.

Among the papers conclusions: There is a large disconnect in US policy related to promoting national competitiveness. “Few policymakers, or even the higher education community,” he states, “are aware of stagnant and, in some states, real declines in higher education access and graduation rates relative to economic competitors, that the US is no longer a net importer of high tech goods, or that the US is no longer the number one destination for international students.”

“Combined with global changes in the market for S&T talent, and the significant and increasingly successful effort of competitors to increase the educational attainment of their population, to build centers of research excellence, and to attract international students, the US’s HT advantage, and more generally its historical competitive advantages, is eroding – although there remain a number of advantages, chiefly related to an entrepreneurial culture, more conducive tax advantages for business, a cadre of elite research universities, and the highest concentration of venture capital in the world.”

“But even here, these advantages may wane over the next decade,” explains Douglass. “The role of science and technology in society continues to grow; many countries have assessed their weaknesses, and have strategic approaches largely focused on significantly raising educational attainment levels, building their higher education systems, increased R&D output, and creating more robust venture capital markets. Most, and in particular the EU, are constantly assessing their relative competitiveness to that of the US and other developed economies. In contrast, US policymakers are thus far less strategic, assume that the nation’s high tech advantage is intact, and are generally not conscious of the breadth of change within the global economy.”

Douglass’ research paper is part of a set of studies on the role of universities in regional economic development to be published by the OECD.

For access to the study, see: http://cshe.berkeley.edu/publications/publications.php?id=302

John Aubrey Douglass is Senior Research Fellow – Public Policy and Higher Education at the Center for Studies in Higher Education at UC Berkeley, and the author most recently of The Conditions for Admissions: Access, Equity and the Social Contract of Public Universities (Stanford University Press 2007).

CONTACT:
Dr. John Aubrey Douglass
douglass@berkeley.edu

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