» EconomicsMartin Jacques’ new book, When China Rules the World: The End of the Western World and the Birth of a New Global Order, is causing controversy. Is it possible that China will “rule the world” in the not-so-distant future? Perhaps, but only if it’s able to successfully transform from an industrial-based economy to a knowledge-based [...] Since 2004, the world’s top 200 universities have been ranked annually by the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings. Recently, Asian universities have been making significant gains on the U.S., long considered to have the world’s best universities. In 2008, the U.S. had 37 universities in the top 100 and 58 in the top 200. In [...] Asian nations are making enormous investments in their universities in order to produce massive numbers of innovative people who can contribute significantly to economic growth. Without increased state investment in universities, the U.S. will no longer have the best universities in the world, will no longer be the world’s innovation leader, and will no longer have [...] The goal of Asian nations to create world-class universities that surpass U.S. universities has “every prospect of success,” argued Yale University President Richard C. Levin in a recent lecture, titled “The Rise of Asia’s Universities.” Levin also stated that rising Asian nations “all recognize the importance of an educated workforce as a means to economic growth [...] Currently, the U.S. has the best universities in the world. They attract the best students from around the world. After graduating, these non-U.S. students often stay in the U.S. to work, helping to fuel the nation’s innovation and economic growth. However, when U.S. universities decline in quality and lose their elite status because of budget cuts, [...] Budgets are being cut from state-supported universities primarily because states are facing budget shortfalls of historic proportions. However, short-sighted state politics like this lead to long-term consequences. For example, state budget cuts force universities to raise tuition, cap enrollment, and cut academic programs. These changes result in a smaller number of graduates, which in turn results [...] In the current issue of Foreign Policy, Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Fogel predicts that China’s GDP will reach $123 trillion by 2040 partially because of “the enormous investment China is making in education.” What are the immediate results of China’s enormous investment in education? Enrollment in high school and higher education has risen steeply with no end [...] While researching education systems in Asia, I had the opportunity to visit schools and universities in China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan. What I observed was a scarcity of creative thinking. While students in those education systems achieve some of the highest scores in the world in math and science, they have problems when it [...] Barack Obama plans to increase the education budget by six percent. Why? It won’t make a difference. Contrary to popular opinion, increased education spending does not lead to improved student outcomes. This holds true for the U.S. as well as for other nations. In the U.S., public spending per student increased by 73 percent—after allowing for inflation—between [...] A recent study from the Pew Research Center found that in the U.S. wives are better educated than their husbands in nearly a third of marriages and make more money than their husbands in 22 percent of marriages, up from 4 percent in 1970. In other words, increasing numbers of men are marrying smarter, wealthier [...] In his most recent column, Thomas L. Friedman argues that innovation and entrepreneurship need to be reinvigorated in America. He states: “Without inventing more new products and services that make people more productive, healthier or entertained—that we can sell around the world—we’ll never be able to afford the health care our people need, let alone pay [...] In A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, Daniel H. Pink describes the four major historical ages: agricultural age (farmers), industrial age (factory workers), information age (knowledge workers), and conceptual age (creators and empathizers). Pink suggests that while left-brainers ruled the first three ages, right-brainers will rule the upcoming conceptual age. I tend [...] As the U.S. becomes increasingly socialistic under President Obama, it’s very likely that the most creative, entrepreneurial, and innovative Americans will move overseas to work for rising countries like China and India. The choice between redistribution of wealth and economic opportunity is an easy one for hard-working, bright people. At the same time, fewer people will immigrate [...] In yesterday’s post, I wrote about Thomas L. Friedman’s conclusion that creative imagination is the most important attribute in a globalized world. The problem is that not every U.S. worker will develop their creative imagination. Some people are better suited to blue-collar or lower-level white-collar jobs. With many of these jobs moving to China and India, [...] In The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, Thomas L. Friedman states: “On such a flat earth, the most important attribute you can have is creative imagination—the ability to be the first on your block to figure out how all these enabling tools can be put together in new and exciting [...] While researching education systems in Asia, I had the opportunity to visit schools and universities in China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan. What I observed was a shortage of creative thinking. While students in those education systems achieve some of the highest scores in the world in math and science, they have problems when it comes [...] As U.S. factory jobs and back-office jobs continue to move to China and India, Americans need to focus on developing the primary skills they have left to offer the global marketplace: creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation. For centuries, the U.S. has been the world’s leader in these skills, which are more important now than ever before. China and [...] Education is becoming increasingly important in China as closing factories leave tens of thousands of workers unemployed. In Guangdong, a province in South China that produces one third of China’s exports, thousands of factories are closing because of new laws, rising costs, a climbing yuan, and increased competition from India and Vietnam. While Guangdong is being especially hard [...] This is the second part in a series I’ve been writing this week about the report, How the World’s Best-Performing School Systems Come Out on Top, which is an analysis of the world’s school systems to find out why some schools succeed and others do not. Today, my focus is on the section of the report that analyzes education spending. [...] President Obama’s $4.35 billion in Race to the Top funds already have states scrambling to reform education in order to receive grants. Why does it take the lure of money for states to do the right thing? It’s no secret that charter schools are effective. Yet some states don’t allow them and many states have not raised [...] |
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