Manufacturing and Society in the 21st Century

Topics for Program on Manufacturing in the 21st Century

• Is the United States investing enough to maintain its technological edge and sustain productivity growth;
• What is the role of foreign direct investment in strengthening/weakening U. S. Manufacturing;
• How important is manufacturing R&D to developing new technology useful to the overall economy;
• Is the manufacturing industrial base adequate to meet national security contingencies;
• Is the education system producing the right advanced (engineering, science) and basic (literacy, numeracy, problem-solving) skills for modern manufacturing;
• Can a large, continental economy with a global role thrive without a strong manufacturing base;
• How can trade policy promote a sound domestic manufacturing sector;
• Other than labor costs, what factors drive international competitiveness and related production and R&D location decisions;
• Does foreign direct investment enhance or hurt domestic manufacturing;
• Are there new models of labor-management relations better suited to the 21st century than the traditional sectoral or craft-based union models, or classic American non-union shops;
• Can targeted industrial policies work in the United States; how can regions promote “clusters of excellence” to support manufacturing operations;
• What is the appropriate mix of funding for basic research between government, academia and the private sector;
• What factors truly drive innovation, and do we know how to measure it;
• Are international economic institutions doing a good job of fostering economic development around the world and maintaining a “level playing field” for competition in the 21st century;
• Are manufacturers doing enough to achieve sustainable environmental production methods and supply chains;
• What, if anything, can be learned from the more corporatist economic models in Europe and Asia with regard to the industrial sector;
• What tax and regulatory policies most affect the manufacturing sector;
• How can manufacturers train, motivate and improve their workforces to become an integral part of the continuous improvement systems needed to compete in the global economy.