Made in America

What went wrong with American industrial productivity, and how can the U.S. economy get back onto the path of high productivity growth? Made in America identifies what is best and worth replicating in American and in ternational industrial practice and sets out five national priorities for regaining the productive edge.

This long-awaited study by a team of leading MIT scientists, engineers, and economists takes a hard look. at the recurring weaknesses of American industry that are threatening the country's standard of living and its competitiveness in the world economy. Unlike most other studies that look at the U.S. economy from the top down and mainly prescribe macroeconomic cures, Made in America focuses on the reorganization and effective integration of human resources and changing technologies within companies as the principal driving force for productivity growth.

Based on hundreds of interviews on three continents and additional detailed research into eight major indus tries from textiles to computers, Made in America con denses the myriad of causes of the productivity problem that are typically cited into a handful of key recurring weaknesses. These include short time horizons and a preoccupation with short-term returns, outdated strate gies that focus excessively on mass production and the domestic market, failures of cooperation within and among U.S. firms, neglect of human resources, techno logical failures in translating discoveries into products, and a public-policy environment that is often at cross purposes with industry.

Looking ahead, Made in America describes strategies for industry, labor, government, and education that will lead to a substantial improvement in American industrial performance. It concludes that without major changes in the ways Americans learn, produce, work with one another, compete internationally, and provide for the future, no amount of macroeconomic fine-tuning will be able to produce a rising standard of living in the long run.

The principal authors are all leaders of the MIT Commission on Industrial Productivity. Michael L. Dertouzos is Chairman of the Commission, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Director of MIT's Laboratory for Computer Science. Richard K. Lester is Executive Director of the Commission and Associate Professor of Nuclear Engineering. Robert M. Solow is Commission Vice Chairman and Institute Professor of Economics.