Business
The exact future of the global economy is uncertain, but its direction is clear: services will become more valuable, value creation will be tied to knowledge-intensive and automated processes and skills, and firms and individuals will need flexibility and resilience. In short, success in the future economy will require countries and companies to be more innovative and Australia risks being left behind. In global rankings of economic complexity – a measure generally correlated with future economic growth – Australia’s has fallen behind countries like Uzbekistan and Botswana while its innovation ranking has fallen steadily out of the top 20 in the world. In upcoming United States Studies Centre (USSC) report The role of US innovation in securing Australia's economic future, report author and Senior Advisor Jared Mondschein offers a path forward, leveraging one of the great advantages Australia has: its strong ties with the United States. Since the end of the Second World War, Mondschein argues, no country has played or continues to play a larger role in helping develop Australia’s innovative capabilities than the United States. What is the cost of a failure to innovate? How can Australia and the United States expand economic engagement which supports innovation? What can Australia learn from other US allies and partners who have embraced innovation? USSC hosted a webinar event featuring former Chargé d'Affaires at the US embassy in Canberra James Carouso, Google Australia Government Affairs and Public Policy Manager Alex Lynch, Queensland Innovation Lead and Deputy Director-General Dr Sarah Pearson, and report author USSC Senior Advisor Jared Mondschein in a conversation moderated by USSC Senior Non-Resident Fellow Dr John Lee.