America’s Innovation Crisis

Our real standard of living only increases when we increase our productivity. So, the current recession has raised some important questions about our priorities as managers, investors, and members of society. Between 2001 and 2007, a mountain of cash was poured into housing and financial instruments, and that spending had very little to do with increasing productivity. In the aftermath of the housing bubble, some economists argue that “we’ve dug ourselves into a hole” because technological breakthroughs have slowed to a crawl. Is this the correct interpretation? What, .....