According to author Richard Florida, the greatest factor contributing to a nation's competitive advantage is not its natural resources, manufacturing excellence, military dominance, or scientific and technological prowess. Instead, he says, economic success depends on a country's "ability to mobilize, attract, and retain human creative talent." And, like any good economist, (Florida is a professor of public policy at George Mason University), he has created a way to measure a country's creative competitiveness: the Global Creativity Index (GCI).
Florida bases the GCI on three elements of economic growth: technology, talent, and tolerance. His data indicates that the United States trails in the race for creativity, in fourth place behind Sweden, Japan, and Finland. In order for the United States to maintain its position of economic power it will have to focus on the "new global competition for talent."
The first of the three parts focuses on the historical evolution of the creative economy and highlights the ways in which America has traditionally been open to new ideas and people. The second part examines the rising global competition for talent. Florida analyzes the U.S. position in the creativity race and attributes its lagging performance, in part, to the increasingly restrictive climate facing foreign visitors due to American foreign policy. He also looks at the growth of new urban centers cropping up around the world, illustrating the ways in which cities such as Dublin and Taipei are attracting and developing their own native talent.
The third part concentrates on internal challenges for the United States resulting from the creative economy. Florida points to the widening economic divide that is made worse by the competition both between economic regions and internally within cities. High levels of inequality will slow down economic growth and ultimately result in creative waste. While the United States was once viewed as the greatest example of a true meritocracy, universities and colleges are no longer a means of social mobility for the underprivileged and economically disadvantaged.
In the end, Florida predicts that societies able to balance individual achievement against risk (socializing risk) and empower individuals to be productive and creative will be the most successful. He points to countries such as Canada, the Scandinavian and Nordic nations, and Australia as examples of countries that are coping more easily with the challenges posed by the creative economy.—Mallory Stark