More than 25% of U.S. technology companies have at least one foreign-born founder, a majority of Silicon Valley startups have a foreign-born founder, and 40%
of Fortune 500 companies were created by an immigrant or first-generation American.”
Coal in the rich world: The mixed fortunes of a fuel | The Economist - 0 views
-
Coal in the rich world
Silicon Valley Tries to Remake the Idea Machine - NYTimes.com - 0 views
-
Silicon Valley Tries to Remake the Idea Machine
-
The federal government now spends $126 billion a year on R. and D., according to the National Science Foundation. (It’s pocket change compared with the $267 billion that the private sector spends.) Asian economies now account for 34 percent of global spending; America’s share is 30 percent.
-
“It’s the unique ingredient of the U.S. business model — not just smart scientists in universities, but a critical mass of very smart scientists working in the neighborhood of commercial businesses,
- ...7 more annotations...
Christopher R. Hill asks why sectarian and tribal allegiances have replaced civic conce... - 0 views
-
As such examples suggest, political identity has shifted to something less civil and more primordial.
-
When sectarian or ethnic minorities have ruled countries – for example, the Sunnis of Iraq – they typically have a strong interest in downplaying sectarianism or ethnicity. They often become the chief proponents of a broader, civic concept of national belonging, in theory embracing all peoples. In Iraq, that concept was Ba’athism. And while it was more identified with the Sunni minority than with the Shia majority, it endured for decades as a vehicle for national unity, albeit a cruel and cynical one.
-
Sectarianism thus came to frame Iraqi politics, making it impossible to organize non-sectarian parties on the basis of, say, shared socioeconomic interests. In Iraqi politics today (leaving aside the Kurds), seldom does a Sunni Arab vote for a Shia Arab, or a Shia for a Sunni. There is competition among Shia parties and among Sunni parties; but few voters cross the sectarian line –
- ...4 more annotations...
Business and government: The new age of crony capitalism | The Economist - 1 views
-
Rent-seeking” is what economists call a special type of money-making: the sort made possible by political connections. This can range from outright graft to a lack of competition, poor regulation and the transfer of public assets to firms at bargain prices. Well-placed people have made their fortunes this way ever since rulers had enough power to issue profitable licences, permits and contracts to their cronies.
-
Capitalism based on rent-seeking is not just unfair, but also bad for long-term growth.
-
It identifies sectors which are particularly dependent on government—such as mining, oil and gas, banking and casinos—
- ...2 more annotations...
1 - 6 of 6
Showing 20▼ items per page