Competition is probably one of humankind’s most primal instincts, but increasing globalization, technological advancement and diversification of the population seem to have kicked the desire to beat out other contenders into overdrive. Each of the books highlighted in this article addresses some aspect of these converging trends:
The Race Between Education and Technology, by Claudia Goldin and Lawrence F. Katz, $19.95, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, March 2010, ISBN-10: 0674035305, ISBN-13: 978-0674035300, pp. 496.
Mass education is what set the United States apart from all other nations starting in the 19th Century and extending through much of the 20th century, as the authors explain in this award-winning book. Rather than educating only the elite who could pay for it, America educated more people for more years at no charge. As the U.S. turned out even more educated people than needed to meet the demands of technology, its wages, productivity and income equality increased, according to Drs. Goldin and Katz, both Harvard University economics professors. Gains from this expanding economic growth became more or less equally distributed across society.
In the last couple of decades of the 20th Century, the country began losing what it cast as the race between education and technology. In the meantime, other countries had begun educating more of their own people. Students of some nations began exceeding U.S. high school and college graduation rates, as well as outscoring American students on standardized exams.
“Rising inequality, lagging productivity for a prolonged period, and a rather non-stellar educational report card have led many to question the qualities that once made America the envy of all and a beacon for the world’s people,” the authors write.
As they note, “the supply of educated Americans slowed considerably” after 1980. Technology raced ahead of educational gains in the United States. The authors expand on the reasons for these gaps, analyze trends in education and economics that are at the root of the problem and examine some solutions. As the bottom line, to fix the problems and regain our competitive edge in the world, the authors suggest that the U.S. re-examine assumptions about education and turn out more people with analytical, direct-service and interpersonal skills that future jobs are likely to require.
The Great Brain Race: How Global Universities Are Reshaping the World, by Ben Wildavsky, $26.95, Princeton University Press; April 2010, ISBN-10: 0691146896, ISBN-13: 978-0691146898, pp. 248.
