A low payoff for higher ed
By Laurence Kotlikoff, Bloomberg News. In Print: Thursday, March 10, 2011. The notion that education pays and that better education pays better is taken for granted by almost everyone. For college professors like me, this is a very convenient idea, providing a high and growing demand for our services. Unfortunately, the facts seem to disagree. A recent study by economists Stacy Dale and Alan Krueger showed that going to more selective colleges and universities makes little difference to future income once one accounts for the underlying ability of the student. Their work confirms other studies that find no financial benefit to attending top-tier schools. Learn more…
In economic rankings, why is Raleigh-Durham still kicking our backside?
By Robert Trigaux, Times Business Columnist. In Print: Thursday, March 10, 2011. Five years ago, the first economic scorecard ranking Tampa Bay against five other metro areas landed us at No. 2, tied with Raleigh-Durham and behind No. 1 Charlotte. Impressive. But short-lived. Times changed as the economic downturn smothered some metro areas more than others. When the latest economic scorecard was released this week, Raleigh-Durham was No. 1, as it routinely has been in recent years. By a big margin. And Tampa Bay? It ranked way back at No. 5, a shade above Jacksonville. Truth is, we easily could have been at rock bottom No. 6 had we not tinkered with one of the measures that made up our economic score. These rankings were created by the Tampa Bay Partnership, a regional economic development group. Learn more…
What Will America Make and What Does “Make” Mean?
By John Mariotti. Forbes, February 26, 2011. This was the title of an Association for Manufacturing panel discussion I moderated a decade ago—and it is as timely today as it was then. At that time the recession of 2000 was underway. Fast forward to 2011.What country is the world’s largest manufacturer? Not China, not Germany, not Japan. The United States of America, with a 2009 output of $2.15 Trillion, was a full 45% higher than China’s, and constituted 20% of the total global manufacturing. With all the concern about jobs in the U. S. it is easy to jump to the conclusion that making things in America is no longer possible or profitable. That would be wrong too. China is growing faster, and may, after a number of years, overtake the U. S. But remember the threat of Japan a few decades ago, when we thought it too would surpass the U. S. That didn’thappen. Over two decades I saw Lester Thurow, a very smart guy, predict that Europe would eclipse the U. S. too. That didn’t happen either. Perhaps the threat of America’s demise is premature. Learn more…
Factories having trouble finding skilled workers
By Chris Isidore. CnnMoney.com, March 11, 2011. The article looks at manufacturing companies that are having difficult time finding works with trade skills. Manpower directs this problem towards a young job seekers not looking at jobs in the manufacturing sector that is actually seeking employees. Companies would employ more significant numbers if there were more qualified people. Manpower, the global temporary staffing firm, states that there are not enough students in the pipelines at vocational colleges to replenish the anticipated retirees in the manufacturing workforce. Learn more….
