kalm wrote: ↑Thu Jan 06, 2022 9:36 am
Winterborn wrote: ↑Thu Jan 06, 2022 9:01 am
I should see if I can find the article from one of my engineering magazines comparing the innovation rate here in the U.S. to Europe. It really brings to light the advantages we have vs the "peer nations".
That would be a very interesting metric.
Unfortunately it was back when I was receiving paper copies of the ASME magazine and searching their digital archive based on what I remember hasn't turned up anything helpful but I will keep jogging the old brain, as it is an article I should have saved for reference.
Gist of the article was a comparison of innovation and disruptive technologies between the U.S. and the rest of the world (mainly Europe). The article delved into business environments in both locations and how the education system helps foster innovation.
Based on memory, Europe places unnecessary hurdles (regulations) that businesses, especially start ups, have a very difficult time overcoming. This leads to less small new businesses and only incremental innovation by established business, as they are only able to absorb some of the risk. The leader by far in Europe is Germany and German companies. Followed, and more than a bit behind, by Brittan and the Scandinavian countries. The U.S. has more innovation incrementally and by far more disruptive. Prime examples of disruptive innovation is companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon, Ebay, Microsoft, Tesla, and SpaceX. These companies have shaped the world and how we view it. In the article they quoted a few people both from the EU parliament and German officials. The politicians from the EU stated that this is something they have noticed and were looking at. Germany took it a step further and has started placing incubators in certain colleges and linking them up with established business and putting in a hybrid model where the college and business gets the revenue and helps students build upon their ideas.
What they (Europe) realized was that the U.S., while not that far ahead in incremental innovation, was by far the leader in the disruptive technology areas and if they wanted to keep companies (tax money) in the EU they needed to do something. The German model is loosely based on what we have been doing for decades here in the U.S. and have really ramped up in the last 15 years or so with innovation centers and the collaboration between colleges and students, and the opportunities to pitch ideas to investors. Our business climate is much more friendly to start-ups from a regulation and cost perspective. From a cost side Europe was always the most expensive followed by the U.S., then China, then the rest of the world. One could argue that the U.S. and Europe are a bit closer now than back when the article was written (along with China being more expensive as well).
Their metrics that they used were patents filed, who filed the patents, and what happened afterwards. They also discussed manufacturing differences from a regulatory and costing among the different regions.
Based on my personal experience is that the only country with a shot at becoming better at disruptive innovation is Germany, though their mindset tends to be more on the details and having a superb product than taking a chance (they make some phenomenal cars). Anal retentive describes more than a few German engineers I have worked with.
And do not get me started on Italian engineers.
If one word could be used to describe EU politicians, it is the word "busybody". Always coming up with new tweaks and rules to justify their job. The rest of the countries listed no longer have the mindset to do so (or are loosing it), and their population is content to live the easy life. They do not have the drive that pushes people here in the U.S. to look outside of the box.
Which is why I laughed when you called them our "peer". The very things people try and heap praise on them for, is what is contributing to their "brain drain", IMHO. The freedom we have here in the U.S., combined with the opportunity for reward (and consequences of failure), creates a drive that is almost impossible to replicate elsewhere.
