A Conversation with Tyler Cowen Written by David Leonhardt - Essay Example

?The article I selected to analyze from the New York Times business section is called A Conversation with Tyler Cowen written by David Leonhardt. Thearticle is written in interview format. The main thesis of the article states that the United States has endured an economic slowdown due to the fact that there has been a slowdown in the amount of innovation breakthroughs the United States generates. Innovation is important because it creates new products that can be manufactured, thus the innovation leads to job creation for the community. An area in which the United States has kept its dominance worldwide in regards to innovation is the pharmaceutical industry. The industry generates a lot of revenues for the United States, but the amounts of jobs created by these companies are limited and specialized. According to the article innovation and economic growth are two correlated concepts. An organization that has done a good job in promoting medical innovation is the National Institute of Health. In order for more innovation to occur in the United States across different industries the federal government and the academic community have to get more involved. The federal government can finance innovative projects by providing research grants to organizations. The government can also perform their own research in-house in order to promote innovation. In 2010 the government showed that its involvement can affect the private industry directly. The US government took over GM Corporation to safeguard the company from bankruptcy in to protect a car company that is currently one of the most innovative players in the auto industry. One of the showcase products developed by GM is the Chevy Volt, a care capable of giving over 230 miles per gallon. The network of private and public universities in the United States is a big contributor to innovation in this nation. Universities receive funds from both the private and public industry in order to perform research. Research and development are the basis of innovative projects. For an innovation to be created thousands of hours of research must be logged to achieve the creation of a new product. The colleges throughout the nation have to do a better job at recruiting students to work on research. More student jobs have to be created geared towards research projects. Exposing students to the research environment is the best way to get more students interested in pursuing careers dedicated to research. The colleges of this nation have to develop more scientist and engineers so that there won’t be a shortage of talent in the private industry. Basic research is often what economist called a ‘public good’ which offers economic returns for years to come (Leonhardt). An issue identified by the author of the article which is hurting the long term ability of the United States to get involved in innovative projects is the fact that our basic educational system is flawed. There are many students graduating from high school that do not have the capabilities and basic knowledge in math and science in order to perform research in innovative projects. Innovation is something that is not created out of thin air. People must provide the ideas needed to create innovative projects. The US Congress has to rethink its strategy concerning our children’s educational system. More teachers need to be hired these teachers need better training in order to better prepare students for the realities of the working world. In high school teachers should encourage students to participate in events such as the science fair which promote innovation. The US government has to increase its educational budget to provide teachers and students access to better materials. A topic that was discussed by the author which has tremendous implication in the development of innovation is the use of clean energy. There has to be greater innovation in the green movement in order to develop alternative sources of energy that are not based on petroleum. Our society has to realize that the dependency on crude is not healthy due to the fact we are depleting the world crude oil reserves. The use of clean energy is important for the survival of our planet due to the fact clean energy sources do not pollute the planet the way petroleum based energy is destroying our eco-systems. The development of the clean energy industry has the potential to create thousands of jobs for American citizens. The unemployment rate in the United States is currently at 9% (Goodwin, 2011). This figure is extremely high considering that prior to the recession the employment rate in the United States used to hover at around 5%. The use of clean energy will save people money on their utility bills. These savings can be used to spend money on other consumer products. Consumer spending is a factor that helps the economy because these transactions are a form of economic activity. Due to the fact that the Unites States needs more scientists in order to promote innovation projects the US must continue to import talent through its immigration policies. Young foreigners with interest in studying science, math, or engineering must be given student visas so that they accomplish their personal goals. The US must also import professionals that already have a background in science so that these individual can work in the private industry on innovative projects. The immigration polices need to be more outgoing to make it easier for talented people to study and work in the United States of America. The Unites States is no longer the world leader in developing college graduates. Innovation is an important factor that must be pursued by the United States as well as by other nations across the world. The use of innovation can help the economy because new products and services lead to the creation of jobs for the community. The existence of innovation also helps the consumer markets by introducing new product and services. The purchase of these new products generates tax income for the government. Tyler Cowen wrote an e-book called The Great Stagnation which discusses the issue of innovation and its effect on the economy. College student should read this e-book so that they can become educated on the subject of innovation. Work Cited Page Goodwin, L. 4 February 2011. “Unemployment Falls to 9 percent” 4 February 2011. http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110204/us_yblog_thelookout/unemployment-falls-to-9-percent Leonhardt, D. 3 February 2011. “A Conversation with Tyler Cowen” The New York Times. 3 February 2011. Read More