Hey look -- I have an Idea!
On my head, that is. Not in, alas, but on. That's the way it goes, some days. But at least I am pressing forward. Or the idea on my head is. That is what the sign says, anyway.
Week before last, I spent an enjoyable couple of days at The Economist's Ideas Economy: Human Potential 2010. I'll post the video when it is available.
Among the most interesting things I heard: Richard Florida says that the "creative sector" has never been above 5% unemployment, and that sector now constitutes 30% of the US workforce. Here is his presentation:
I also had the chance to meet Vivek Wadhwa (very smart fellow), whose recent fascinating blog post on whether job creation comes from big companies or startups I have been pondering for weeks. Here is a snippet from the post: "Startups aren't just an important contributor to job growth: they're the only thing. Without startups, there would be no net job growth in the U.S. economy. From 1977 to 2005, existing companies were net job destroyers, losing 1 million net jobs per year. In contrast, new businesses in their first year added an average of 3 million jobs annually."