The second volume notes that several countries are, in fact, working to change their comparative advantage by making investments in education, research and development, and infrastructure. They are also adopting policies that create an environment that encourages private sector investment and risk taking. In discussing how the United States should respond to the shifting comparative advantage of our trading partners, Senators Lamar Alexander and Jeff Bingaman stress the importance of increased investments in the physical sciences and the need to improve mathematics and science education. Other conference participants focus on policies in key regions of the world and still others urge attention to the U.S. current account and fiscal deficits. The conference on new thinking in international trade was made possible through a generous grant of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

The formula to avoid the “fiscal cliff” is simple write Jane Harman and Vin Weber: a bipartisan compromise including spending cuts, entitlement reform and changes to the tax code that was outlined nearly two years ago in The Simpson Bowles Act. “No party can solve these knotty issues alone or without compromise,” the former members of Congress write for Politico.

The Program on America and the Global Economy along with Paul Vallas, Distinguished Scholar and noted education reformer recently released a publication identifying the main challenges facing U.S. education in the 21st century.