The Flight of the Creative Class: The New Global Competition for Talent

The most valued workers are what economist Florida calls the "creative class," and up until 2002 the United States was the unparalleled leader in creative capital. But several key events-the Bush administration's emphasis on smokestack industries, post-9/11 heightened security concerns, and the growing political divide between parties-have put the nation at a substantial disadvantage. Numerous countries have discovered the enormous economic value of the creative class and are attracting these valuable workers.

"The movement of human capital, particularly the most creative and talented, from nation to nation is critically important to understanding why the future of some countries is assured and that of others doomed. A first-rate piece of work."

-Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation