The Venturesome Economy: How Innovation Sustains Prosperity in a More Connected World

Many warn that the next stage of globalization--the offshoringof research and development to China and India--threatens thefoundations of Western prosperity. But in The Venturesome Economy,acclaimed business and economics scholar Amar Bhidé shows how wrongthe doomsayers are.Using extensive field studies on venture-capital-backedbusinesses to examine how technology really advances in moderneconomies, Bhidé explains why know-how developed abroadenhances--not diminishes--prosperity at home, and why trying tomaintain the U.S. lead by subsidizing more research or trainingmore scientists will do more harm than good.When breakthrough ideas have no borders, a nation's capacity toexploit cutting-edge research regardless of where it originates iscrucial: "venturesome consumption"--the willingness and ability ofbusinesses and consumers to effectively use products andtechnologies derived from scientific research--is far moreimportant than having a share of such research. In fact, aventuresome economy benefits from an increase in research producedabroad: the success of Apple's iPod, for instance, owes much totechnologies developed in Asia and Europe.Many players--entrepreneurs, managers, financiers, salespersons,consumers, and not just a few brilliant scientists andengineers--have kept the United States at the forefront of theinnovation game. As long as their venturesome spirit remains aliveand well, advances abroad need not be feared. Read The VenturesomeEconomy and learn why--and see how we can keep it that way.