The Innovation Economy

This past week has the U.S. sinking further into an economic hole. Congress has been charged with approving a $700 million bailout of Wall Street this week. With lots of bleak spots to complain about - the housing crisis, job losses, global competition, high energy prices – economists are looking for a silver lining.

Some are advocating for innovation – new products, new services, and new ways of doing business. Since 2000, almost five trillion dollars have been spent on research & development, and higher education. Yet job growth in the most innovative fields has stagnated, or even fallen. Both presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain are talking about tax credits for R&D, and investing billions in green technologies.

Michael Mandel is chief economist for Business Week magazine. In this week’s issue, he asks whether America can invent its way back to financial stability, and he joins Word of Mouth to tell us what that means. Click here to read his article.

(Photo by Tiago Silva)