The essential point is that comparative advantage is no longer endowed by nature: through hard work and enlightened administration, countries can wrest it from each others grasp. Ricardo was writing about economies dominated by agriculture and rudimentary manufacturing, where a favorable climate and the ready availability of raw materials were vital. These days, the keys to economic success are a well educated workforce, technical know-how, high levels of capital investment, and entrepreneurial zeal-all of which countries can acquire with the help of supportive governments, multinational firms, and nternational investors A couple of months ago, the Times reported that the United States is losing its dominance in basic scientific research, reflected in the fact that the proportion of American articles in a number of top physics journals fell from sixty-one per cent in 1983 to twenty-nine per cent in 2003. This decline reflects disturbing trends throughout the education system. Indian colleges, with their strong programs in science and math are producing more than forty thousand graduates in computer science a year, with enrollment increasing all the time. In the United States, meanwhile, many colleges are struggling to fill their science programs, and high-school dropout rates are higher than they were thirty-five years ago. In 1969, 77.1 per cent of seventeen-year-olds graduated; in 2002, the most recent year for which statistics are available, the figure was 72.5 per cent. As Pedro Carneiro, a lecturer at University College, London, and James ]. Heckman, a professor at the University of Chicago, pointed out in a recent paper By many measures, since 1980, the quality of the U.S. workforce has stagnated, or its growth has slowed down matically. If the United States is to meet the challenge posed by a truly global economy, it will have to insure that its scientists are the most creative, its business leaders the most innovative, and its workers the most highly skilled-not easy when other nations are seeking the same goals. a truly enlightened trade policy would involve increasing federal support for science at all levels of the education system; creating financial incentives for firms to pursue technological innovation; building up pre-school and mentoring initiatives that reduce dropout rates; expanding scholarships and visas to attract able foreign students and entrepreneurs to these shores; and encouraging the development of the arts. In short, insuring our prosperity involves investing in our human, social, and cultural capital. But don't expect to see that slogan on a campaign bumper sticker anytime soo LOAD-DATE: August 2, 2004 previous Document 98 of 125. nextp Terms Conditions Privacy Copyright 2004 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights ReseThe essential point is that comparative advantage is no longer endowed by nature: through hard work and enlightened administration, countries can wrest it from each other's grasp. Ricardo was writing about economies dominated by agriculture and rudimentary manufacturing, where a favorable climate and the ready availability of raw materials were vital. These days, the keys to economic success are a well￾educated workforce, technical know-how, high levels of capital investment, and entrepreneurial zeal-all of which countries can acquire with the help of supportive governments, multinational firms, and international investors. A couple of months ago, the Times reported that the United States is losing its dominance in basic scientific research, reflected in the fact that the proportion of American articles in a number of top physics journals fell from sixty-one per cent in 1983 to twenty-nine per cent in 2003. This decline reflects disturbing trends throughout the education system. Indian colleges, with their strong programs in science and math, are producing more than forty thousand graduates in computer science a year, with enrollment increasing all the time. In the United States, meanwhile, many colleges are struggling to fill their science programs, and high-school dropout rates are higher than they were thirty-five years ago. In 1969, 77.1 per cent of seventeen-year-olds graduated; in 2002, the most recent year for which statistics are available, the figure was 72.5 per cent. As Pedro Carneiro, a lecturer at University College, London, and James J. Heckman, a professor at the University of Chicago, pointed out in a recent paper, "By many measures, since 1980, the quality of the U.S. workforce has stagnated, or its growth has slowed down dramatically." If the United States is to meet the challenge posed by a truly global economy, it will have to insure that its scientists are the most creative, its business leaders the most innovative, and its workers the most highly skilled-not easy when other nations are seeking the same goals. A truly enlightened trade policy would involve increasing federal support for science at all levels of the education system; creating financial incentives for firms to pursue technological innovation; building up pre-school and mentoring initiatives that reduce dropout rates; expanding scholarships and visas to attract able foreign students and entrepreneurs to these shores; and encouraging the development of the arts. In short, insuring our prosperity involves investing in our human, social, and cultural capital. But don't expect to see that slogan on a campaign bumper sticker anytime soon. LOAD-DATE: August 2, 2004 Document 98 of 125. Terms & Conditions Privacy Copyright © 2004 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Rese