The Economic Innovation Group report is the most detailed effort yet to steer that selection, by trying to balance the needs of left-behind areas with their potential for an economic rebirth. It measures that potential using data on regions\u2019 industrial composition and economic complexity, along with two key human ingredients for innovation: the number of working-age science and technology graduates and the number of patent authors in an area.<\/p>\n
To measure need, the report looks at the share of a region\u2019s prime-age adults who are not employed or are looking for work, two measures of so-called \u201cbrain drain\u201d \u2014 the flight of college graduates from an area \u2014 and the distance from a \u201csuperstar\u201d city like New York or Chicago.<\/p>\n
The top 10 cities on the list are a mix between higher potential (like Phoenix and Salt Lake City) and higher need (like a pair of Ohio cities, Toledo and Akron). Many are college towns, Mr. Fikri noted, that are not quite large enough to have yet sustained a thriving industrial sector that grows out of scientific research.<\/p>\n
Greenville, S.C., tops the list with a score balanced almost evenly between potential and need, followed by Provo, Utah, and Tucson, Ariz.<\/p>\n
The report\u2019s researchers say their data suggests policymakers could \u2014 and should \u2014 spread the hubs across various areas with different bases of technological expertise and differing levels of need, in hopes of maximizing both the advancements and the regional economic gains they produce.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n Innovation Hubs Aim to Lift Distressed Areas. Congress Just Has to Fund Them https:\/\/t.co\/b5pSZTkNjb<\/a> "20 newly created research centers could revitalize struggling economies and accelerate new technologies" #RiseOfRest<\/a> @InnovateEconomy<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/r22B8zYErk<\/a><\/p>\n — Steve Case (@SteveCase) December 5, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n