US in danger of losing technology race February 17, 2005
Washington - The US share of worldwide high-tech exports has dropped from 31 percent to 18 percent over the past 20 years in what could foreshadow the loss of the country's leadership position in science and technology, a blue ribbon expert panel warned Wednesday.
The Task Force on the Future of American Innovation created by leading US companies and scientific and business associations sounded the alarm as it presented a report indicating that the United States was gradually losing its position as the world leader in scientific and technological research, primarily to the fast-growing economies in Asia.
"US employers are being forced to look overseas, as they face shortages of qualified technically trained talent in the US," said Craig Barrett, chief executive officer of Intel Corporation, a member of the task force.
"If this trend continues, new technologies, and the constellation of support industries surrounding them, will increasingly develop overseas, not here."
The signs of trouble outlined in the report range from a decrease in the volume of academic research to stagnant funding for research and development offered by both the government and corporate America.
As the US share in global high-tech exports was dropping, China, South Korea and other emerging Asian economies boosted theirs from seven percent in 1980 to 25 percent in 2001, according to the study.
Moreover, the high-tech industries of many Asian countries grew faster in the 1990s than that of the United States.
China's output in that sector, for example, shot up more than eight-fold - from $30 billion to $257 billion over the decade - while in the United States, it just doubled from $423 billion to $940 billion.
The root cause of that phenomenon may lie in the decreasing interest in science and engineering consistently displayed by young Americans.
According to the report, enrolment in science and engineering classes at US universities dropped 10 percent for US citizens between 1994 and 2001 but increased by 25 percent for foreign-born students. - AFP
Washington - The US share of worldwide high-tech exports has dropped from 31 percent to 18 percent over the past 20 years in what could foreshadow the loss of the country's leadership position in science and technology, a blue ribbon expert panel warned Wednesday.
The Task Force on the Future of American Innovation created by leading US companies and scientific and business associations sounded the alarm as it presented a report indicating that the United States was gradually losing its position as the world leader in scientific and technological research, primarily to the fast-growing economies in Asia.
"US employers are being forced to look overseas, as they face shortages of qualified technically trained talent in the US," said Craig Barrett, chief executive officer of Intel Corporation, a member of the task force.
"If this trend continues, new technologies, and the constellation of support industries surrounding them, will increasingly develop overseas, not here."
The signs of trouble outlined in the report range from a decrease in the volume of academic research to stagnant funding for research and development offered by both the government and corporate America.
As the US share in global high-tech exports was dropping, China, South Korea and other emerging Asian economies boosted theirs from seven percent in 1980 to 25 percent in 2001, according to the study.
Moreover, the high-tech industries of many Asian countries grew faster in the 1990s than that of the United States.
China's output in that sector, for example, shot up more than eight-fold - from $30 billion to $257 billion over the decade - while in the United States, it just doubled from $423 billion to $940 billion.
The root cause of that phenomenon may lie in the decreasing interest in science and engineering consistently displayed by young Americans.
According to the report, enrolment in science and engineering classes at US universities dropped 10 percent for US citizens between 1994 and 2001 but increased by 25 percent for foreign-born students. - AFP