Recommendation

Congress should create a commission to identify mechanisms to combat corporate short-termism and promote long-term investment in innovation.

Details

Any national innovation and competitiveness policy needs to include measures to counter the pressure that corporations face to demonstrate short-term financial performance, because it leads to less long-term business investment in the foundations of innovation. Congress should establish a national commission to identify legislative and regulatory measures that would encourage companies to invest more for the long term. For example, such a commission might consider a proposal from the Institute of Corporate Directors to replace quarterly financial reports with less frequent updates, such as half-yearly results.

Keep reading:

▪ Robert D. Atkinson, “Restoring Investment in America’s Economy” (ITIF, June 2016), https://itif.org/publications/2016/06/13/restoring-investment-americas-economy.