Michigan Economic Forum:
How will Michigan Regain its Competitive Advantage?
Kenneth Acuna
Issue date: 4/3/07 Section: Inside Ross
The history of Michigan's economy has people wondering what happened. Michigan was a powerhouse of the United States' industrial era but those days are over. With an unemployment rate of 6.6% in February 2007, which is well above the national average, and with jobs flocking out of the state, it seems obvious that there are problems we should address.
The Inaugural Michigan Economic Forum on Friday, March 30 addressed the question of "How will Michigan Regain its Competitive Advantage?" This event went from 1:00-5:00PM at the Biological Science Research Building (BSRB) and it featured a distinguished panel of speakers who discussed a different perspective on the state of the Michigan economy.
In the industrial era, the great lakes region with Michigan in the center, led the country in new technologies like automotive, steel, and eventually airplane production. However, this comparative advantage decreased as the United States switched from a developing country with traditional values, to a post-industrial, post-modernized advanced society. This switch causes a shift from manufacturing and agriculture, to a service and information sector oriented economy.
The problem is that, like Dr. Charles L. Evans stated, "Michigan's economy is less diversified." Because of Michigan's inability to transfer its resources to adapt to new times, Michigan is even losing in its bread and butter, the automotive industry. Toyota and many others are locating their plants in places like Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee, and this is disrupting the supply-chain which is slowly moving South along with the plants.
John Austin also pointed out that Michigan is suffering from deficiencies in human capital because of the current state of education. He remarked that the lack of competitive industries in Michigan are causing a "brain drain" where Michigan's talent gets their degree, then go to major cities like New York, Chicago, or places like the Silicon Valley in search of the big bucks. Also, Michigan is underperforming the national average in education, but there is hope.
The speakers noted that Michigan is in a position to grow. This region is full of the investment in the research and development that fuels innovation. The great lakes region is full of institutions like the University of Michigan, which anchor patent generation, a proxy for growth. In addition, many big companies are viewing struggling cities like Detroit as great investment opportunities, and increased investment can help revitalize Detroit and many others. With the development of new technologies, as well as growth in the service industry, the speakers stressed that Michigan can regain its competitive advantage.
The Inaugural Michigan Economic Forum on Friday, March 30 addressed the question of "How will Michigan Regain its Competitive Advantage?" This event went from 1:00-5:00PM at the Biological Science Research Building (BSRB) and it featured a distinguished panel of speakers who discussed a different perspective on the state of the Michigan economy.
In the industrial era, the great lakes region with Michigan in the center, led the country in new technologies like automotive, steel, and eventually airplane production. However, this comparative advantage decreased as the United States switched from a developing country with traditional values, to a post-industrial, post-modernized advanced society. This switch causes a shift from manufacturing and agriculture, to a service and information sector oriented economy.
The problem is that, like Dr. Charles L. Evans stated, "Michigan's economy is less diversified." Because of Michigan's inability to transfer its resources to adapt to new times, Michigan is even losing in its bread and butter, the automotive industry. Toyota and many others are locating their plants in places like Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee, and this is disrupting the supply-chain which is slowly moving South along with the plants.
John Austin also pointed out that Michigan is suffering from deficiencies in human capital because of the current state of education. He remarked that the lack of competitive industries in Michigan are causing a "brain drain" where Michigan's talent gets their degree, then go to major cities like New York, Chicago, or places like the Silicon Valley in search of the big bucks. Also, Michigan is underperforming the national average in education, but there is hope.
The speakers noted that Michigan is in a position to grow. This region is full of the investment in the research and development that fuels innovation. The great lakes region is full of institutions like the University of Michigan, which anchor patent generation, a proxy for growth. In addition, many big companies are viewing struggling cities like Detroit as great investment opportunities, and increased investment can help revitalize Detroit and many others. With the development of new technologies, as well as growth in the service industry, the speakers stressed that Michigan can regain its competitive advantage.
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kede
posted 4/01/10 @ 2:34 PM EST
I like articles like this. Great Article! Thanks!
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