Creative Class

Check it out! In The Venturesome Economy, Amar Bhidé of Columbia University examines the role of entrepreneurship and innovation in a global economy. In a great interview/podcast on Econtalk, Russ Roberts draws Bhidé out on these topics. One overarching theme – the source of economic growth is not technology, per se, but the application of technology to market-relevant products; and that the U.S. national innovation system (research, funding, and labor) has historically been quite adept at this entire process. What happens now, however, is open for debate.

The last 25 minutes of the interview are particularly interesting for those with a scholarly bent, as the conversation turns to a discussion of Schumpeterian versus Hayekian models of innovation and the impact of Knightian uncertainty in the entrepreneurial process.

I think Bhidé is right and that there’s a lot to be optimistic about. One key issue is making sure that that the U.S. national innovation system remains flexible and resilient.

Where do you think tomorrow’s breakthrough innovations will come from? And who will provide them? The university lab? Corporate research and development? Your garage?

Technology push or technology pull: it’s an age-old question. In his new book, The Venturesome Economy, Columbia University’s Amar Bhide comes down squarely in favor of the technology pull view. The real source of America’s innovative edge is not simply in great universities, research intensive companies, government sponsored innovation efforts, or tech-savvy venture capitalists and Silicon Valley-style entrepreneurial companies, but in something much more basic – a large body of “venturesome” consumers ready, willing, and able to try new things. Sometimes I call them the creative class Having lived and worked in the technology push world of Washington D.C., this book should be required reading for members of the incoming Obama administration’s economics and science and technology policy teams. The Financial Times has a nice review. A power-point summary is here.