As the 2012 election season has demonstrated, few politicians can make a speech concerning economic policy without using the term “competitiveness.” Yet, despite its frequent and casual use, there is little if any agreement on its meaning. Academics have been slow to embrace the term, holding a healthy skepticism toward such political utterances.

The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) brought together experts from a variety of fields to discuss the issue of competitiveness and how it may influence their disciplines. This volume is composed of the nine papers that were presented at three conferences attempting to answer the question: if "competitiveness" were to have a rigorous and relevant meaning in your field, what might that be?

The volume begins with a chapter outlining the arguments surrounding competitiveness and a discussion of the Tiebout model along with its application to the international stage. From there, the chapters address the subjects of competitive tax policy, education policy, immigration, innovation, health care, international trade, and measuring international competitiveness. The conclusions these papers reach enrich the debate on what competitiveness is and how policymakers should strive to support it.

Contents

I. Tiebout and Competitiveness by Kevin A. Hassett, R. Glenn Hubbard, and Matthew H. Jensen
II. Competitive Tax Policy by Joel Slemrod
III. Education and Global Competitiveness: Lessons for the United States from International Evidence by Martin West
IV. Immigration, Productivity, and Competitiveness in American Industry by Gordon H. Hanson
V. The Role of Innovation and Intellectual Property in Economic Competition by Robert J. Shapiro
VI. American Competitiveness and the Health Care System by Michael E. Chernew and Philip I. Levy
VII. Is the United States "Competitive" Internationally in Health Care ? by Benjamin Zycher
VIII. Global Value Chains and the Continuing Case for Free Trade by Claude Barfield and Matthew H. Jensen
IX. International Competitiveness by Phillip Swagel