If you encounter problems viewing this email go to http://www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde/news/nde-news.htm

March 12 - 18, 2007

Ranking the States in the New Economy

Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington and California top the list of states that are leading an economic transformation in adapting to an increasingly global-, knowledge- and innovation-based New Economy, according to The 2007 State New Economy Index, released recently by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). The Index is a state-by-state analysis of how state economies are transforming from an old industrial economic model based on “smokestack chasing” in which economic development success is measured by the number of big company relocations rather than in the creation and retention of high value-added, high-wage jobs. It uses 26 indicators from a variety of sources to rank each state on the extent to which their economies are structured and operate to effectively compete regionally as well as globally. According to the Index, states at the top of the ranking tend to have a high concentration of managers, professionals and college-educated residents working in “knowledge jobs.” Their companies tend to be more geared toward global markets, both in terms of export orientation and the amount of foreign direct investments. All the states at the top of the ranking also show above-average levels of entrepreneurship, even those that are not growing rapidly in employment.

Download a copy of the 2007 State New Economy Index.

Entrepreneurship Education in the States

During last month’s celebrations of Entrepreneurship Week USA, a number of speakers and experts opined on the need to get more of America’s youth exposed to entrepreneurship. A new assessment of state entrepreneurship education policies shows that we still have a long way to go on this front. The Education Commission of the States (ECS) has tallied up what state governments are doing to support entrepreneurship education, and the basic answer to date is “not much.” At present, only nine states have legislation specifically addressing entrepreneurship at the K-12 level, and only 14 states address legislation at the post-secondary level. While the ECS snapshot does not capture all programs (especially those operating outside of government agencies), it does indicate that much still remains to be done in terms of expanding access to entrepreneurship training for America’s youth.

Access the Education Commission of the States’ February 2007 report, “Entrepreneurship Education Laws in the States,” by Kyle Zinth

European Innovation Scorecard

The sixth edition of the European Innovation Scorecard was recently released, and its findings confirm some fairly consistent trends across the European innovation landscape. The Scandinavian countries continue to be Europe’s innovation leaders. Other nations scoring well on this assessment are Japan, Germany, and Switzerland. The US (along with the UK, France, and others) falls within the category of “innovation followers,” i.e. nations that fall in the 2nd quartile of the innovation scorecard. Nations in Southern and Eastern Europe make up the bulk of the scorecard’s “catching up” economies or “trailing” economies. The scorecard assesses 25 indicators that fall into five broader categories. These include three input categories (innovation drivers, knowledge creation, and innovation and entrepreneurship), and two output categories (applications, and intellectual property). While the scorecard ranks the US as an “innovation follower,” a closer look at the data may lead some observers to question this assessment. The US leads EU nations in many of the scorecard’s key innovation categories, but lags (like Japan) on measurements of Community designs and trademarks. Community designs and trademarks are European-wide intellectual property protections.

Download the European Innovation Scorecard 2006, prepared by the Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT) and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission .

International Patent Filings Boom

The World International Patent Office (WIPO) has recently reported that it received a record number of patent filings in 2006. The number of patent filings has grown massively since WIPO opened shop in 1978. Last year, 145,300 applications were filed—a 6.4% increase from 2005. (By way of comparison, the US Patent and Trademark Office received a record 440,000 patent applications in fiscal year 2006). While Northeast Asia showed the fastest growth in filings, the US still accounts for the largest number of applications (34.1% of the total). Japan and Germany account for the 2nd and 3rd highest totals. In terms of technology fields, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals and information technology are the most prevalent areas. Together, they accounted for slightly more than 30% of all WIPO applications in 2006.

Learn more about the World International Patent Office’s performance in 2006

What Explains Small Business Health Insurance Patterns?

The high cost of health insurance continues to bedevil American entrepreneurs, to the point where small firms are significantly less likely to provide health insurance to their employees. A new study sponsored by the US Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy seeks to explain why this is the case. Some of the findings are pretty self-explanatory. For example, individuals who work at a very small firm or who receive low wages are least likely to be insured. Some other findings should be used to generate additional research. The study finds that medium-sized firms (100-249 employees) spend the most on health care expenses. This pattern could result from more generous benefits at these firms or because these companies, unlike their larger counterparts, do not have the capacity to self-insure and thus better manage costs. Other interesting findings include the fact that workers are less likely to be insured in states with high numbers of Medicaid beneficiaries. Meanwhile, workers are more likely to be insured if they work in states with higher per-capita health care expenditures.

Access the March 2007 SBA Office of Advocacy report, Structural Factors Affecting the Health Insurance Coverage of Workers at Small Firms, by Econometrica, Inc.

The National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship, an initiative of the Public Forum Institute made possible by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City. Through NDE-news, we bring you short summaries and analyses of various trends driving the innovation economy. Subscribe now to receive your weekly copy. Archived issues are available online. Links to the day's entrepreneurship stories from across the nation and around the world are posted each weekday on the NDE main page - bookmark it and stay informed about the latest entrepreneurship news.

National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship

All stories © 2006 The Public Forum Institute
Content from this newsletter may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes with proper attribution to the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship and a link to www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde.