The just released McKinsey Global Institute (MGI is the business and economics research arm of McKinsey & Company; it combines the disciplines of economics and management, employing the analytical tools of economics with the insights of business leaders; it’s “micro-to-macro” methodology examines microeconomic industry trends to better understand the broad macroeconomic forces affecting business strategy and public policy) report (part of a large body of MGI research on the US economy) sifted through a wide range of ideas that could catalyze US economic growth before zeroing in on five “game changers” that can add hundreds of billions of dollars to annual GDP and create millions of new jobs by 2020.  The game changers (different in nature, but mutually reinforcing, and which present opportunities today given changing factor costs, new technologies, and lessons on what policies work) are: shale energy production; enhanced US trade competitiveness in knowledge-intensive goods; the potential for big data analytics to raise productivity within sectors; increased investment in infrastructure, with a new emphasis on its productivity; and new approaches to talent development in both K-12 and post-secondary education. The report examines what it will take to unlock the potential of each game changer and explores the implications for both business leaders and policy makers.

We noted with pleasure that in the “Preface” signed by Richard Dobbs Director (McKinsey Global Institute Seoul), and James Manyika (Director, McKinsey Global Institute San Francisco), in July 2013, it was specified that the project team managed by Sreenivas Ramaswamy also included Marc Sorel, the son of our distinguished collaborator Professor Eliot Sorel (http://www.sanabuna.ro/speakers/eliotsorel/ )

Of keen interest to us is also the link between this MGI report’s items on new approaches to talent development in both K-12 and post-secondary education, and enhanced competitiveness in knowledge- intensive goods with our Bucharest Consensus on Higher Education that Professor Eliot Sorel developed in 2010 and updated in 2012: http://www.sanabuna.ro/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Bucharest-Consensus-Oct-2010-ES.pdf