The use of robotics will increase productivity and has the potential to bring more manufacturing production work back to developed countries. As productivity increases, labor is likely to receive a significant share of the benefits.
A national framework for digital economy rules would ensure the same protections for all U.S. residents, minimize transaction costs for businesses, enable opportunities to innovate, and increase efficiency in the policymaking process.
The National Science Foundation’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program focuses on high-growth startups and commercializing federally funded research and development (R&D). Other federal agencies should consider emulating this model.
Despite concern over climate change, global carbon emissions continue to rise. Clean energy innovation is needed to reverse the trend. It is time for Mission Innovation member nations to make good on their commitment to double clean energy RD&D.
Policymakers should recognize that the potential of data-driven drug development is crucial to the well-being of Americans as well as U.S. competitiveness, and develop policies to accelerate this transformation.
The federal government should significantly increase spending on research and development that specifically targets technologies likely to boost productivity in order to spur growth and reduce the budget deficit.
Academic studies consistently show that a reduction in current drug revenues leads to a fall in future research and the number of new drug discoveries.
Policymakers should enable entry into the broadband market, but avoid undermining the dynamism of the sector by actively promoting additional competitors.
Since 2015, 24 nations and the EU have joined “Mission Innovation,” pledging to double public investments in energy RD&D and collaborate on key innovation challenges. This report seeks to provide accountability for these commitments and lay the foundation for more ambitious measures.
The United States leads the race for global advantage in artificial intelligence, at least for the time being, with China coming in second and the EU lagging behind. But China is poised to challenge U.S. dominance in coming years as it undertakes bold AI initiatives.
China is challenging the United States for market share and jobs in one of the highest value-added, most innovation-intensive industries—and the risks extend not just to the U.S. economy, but to global biopharma innovation.
Federal legislation mirroring key provisions of privacy laws in Europe or California could cost the U.S. economy about $122 billion per year.
A report by ITIF for the MAPI Foundation, a research subsidiary of the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI).
The two tools are complementary, like a saw and sandpaper. One leads taxpayers to shave their energy use. The other drives innovation in promising clean energy technologies.
Korea, Mexico, and Taiwan represent vital trade partners for the United States, not only as destinations for U.S. exports, but more importantly as key partners whose firms supply critical intermediate goods on which the health of America’s advanced-technology industries depend.
A survey of allied think tanks summarizes what 23 nations and the EU are doing best when it comes to innovation policy, and where there are the greatest opportunities to improve. In many cases, the successes can serve as model policies for other countries to adopt.
One year later, there is mounting evidence that the law has not produced its intended outcomes; moreover, the unintended consequences are severe and widespread.
In an article for American Affairs, Rob Atkinson and Michael Lind explain why national developmentalism should guide American economic policy at home and abroad.
Arguments used to justify digital services taxes on large Internet companies are flawed. The United States should counter these proposals and work to restore international consensus around tax treatment for multinational companies.
The foundation of the global digital economy is showing cracks. Countries that support an open, rules-based global trading system need to agree on a common framework.
Depending on how restrictive export controls are, U.S. firms could lose $14.1 billion to $56.3 billion in export sales over five years, with the missed export opportunities threatening from 18,000 to 74,000 jobs.
Europe’s success in the global algorithmic economy requires a regulatory environment that is fit for AI but does not reduce consumer protections.
Countries with robust IP rights and protections must recognize that new energy, new tactics, and a new strategy are needed to encourage other nations to contribute more and detract less from global innovation.
Seven case studies showcase how IP rights are enabling innovators in Latin America to help solve some of the greatest global health challenges.
If China were only a copier, then the competitive threat to advanced economies would be limited. But there is no reason to believe China won’t follow the path of “Asian tigers” that rapidly evolved from copiers to innovators, which poses a serious threat.
Given that the economy has been in an unprecedented productivity growth slump—and the baby boom retirement wave is rising—taxing automation equipment ranks as a singularly bad policy idea.
The Trump administration has once again proposed massive cuts to energy RD&D. Lawmakers should not give this year’s budget proposal any greater credence than they have given the last two. Congress should instead continue down the path of elevating innovation in clean energy as a national priority.
This provocative new book now available from The MIT Press shows small businesses are not the drivers of our prosperity. Big firms are better for job creation, productivity, innovation, and most other economic benefits. Governments should stop tipping the scales toward small and adopt “size neutral” policies that encourage companies of all sizes to grow.
Misusing the “march-in right” provision of the Bayh-Dole Act could negatively impact U.S. life-sciences innovation and result in fewer new drugs.
With nearly three dozen new additions, the updated “Tech Policy To-Do List” now provides a menu of more than 150 actionable ideas for Congress and the administration to foster innovation, growth, and progress.
The next wave of digital innovation is coming. Countries can welcome it, prepare for it, and ride it to new heights of innovation and prosperity, or they can ignore the changing tide and miss the wave.
5G, AI, IoT, and more: In a reader-friendly series of two-pagers, ITIF provides overviews of important technologies that are likely to have a profound impact on the global economy and modern society.
Productivity is the key to improving living standards—so policymakers should ignore conventional economists who say there is little government can do about it and instead make it the principal goal of economic policy.
America’s innovation-driven, high-tech economy isn’t concentrated around a few hubs like Silicon Valley; it is widely diffused—and every state and congressional district has a stake in its success.