Competitive Advantage Erosion
...education between the United States and China.
This disparity which is causing businesses to shift their operations to access highly educated talent pools in Asia are a result of 3 key factors.
1. China, understanding the importance of improving science and engineering education aims to leverage its highly skilled population to boost its competitive advantage in the global market.
2. The United States continues to have its competitive advantage eroded away as fewer and fewer college graduates leave higher education with an advanced degree in science or engineering.
INTRODUCTION
On October 4, 1957, the former Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the first man-made satellite, into outer space. Sputnik I was a tiny object, only about the size of a basketball, but despite its size, the impact of this event changed the world with respect to politics, military, technology, and especially scientific development. While the launch of a basketball sized object into outers space might seem like a single but important event, it marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-U.S.S.R space race1. Fears of a "missile gap" and being overtaken technologically, drove the United States to increase funding for science and technology research. This push for technological superiority led to the United States' competitive advantage in information technology that lasted for almost 30 years.
50 years after the launch of Sputnik I, the United States and other economically mature nations are facing a new technology gap. The sharp increase in foreign direct investment being used to build up advanced science and engineering research in Asia along with increased growth of advanced science graduates coming out of Asian universities, will lead to the erosion of the competitive advantage of the United States' while boosting the growth of emerging Asian knowledge economies. As...
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