In this episode Rob Atkinson is questioned on a range of issues related to the global competitiveness of the U.S. manufacturing sector. While asserting that there isn’t a comprehensive measure of competitiveness, Dr. Atkinson notes that trade imbalances are troubling. Microeconomic issues support such macroeconomic concerns. Rob points to data, for example, which shows that U.S. manufacturing is lagging in the implementation of increasingly important disruptive process technologies. He also overviews his thinking on human capital inadequacies in U.S. manufacturing in a global competitive context and discusses policy implications.
