The Challenge of Shared Prosperity: Findings of Harvard Business School's 2015 Survey on U.S. Competitiveness

By: Jan Rivkin, Karen G. Mills and Michael E. Porter

Format:Print
| Language:English

Abstract

In the 2015 survey on U.S. competitiveness, HBS alumni weigh in on the current state and future trajectory of U.S. competitiveness as well as the structural strengths and weaknesses of the U.S. business environment. In addition, alumni delve deeper into two aspects of competitiveness: the health of entrepreneurship in the U.S. and business leaders' views on shared prosperity. Alumni are optimistic about the ability of U.S. firms to compete globally and they see entrepreneurship as more accessible today than it was a decade ago. But they doubt that firms in the U.S. will be able to lift the living standards of the average American. Alumni report that rising inequality, middle-class stagnation, economic immobility, and limited economic mobility are problems for their businesses, not just social issues. Business leaders would like to see the future gains in prosperity spread far more evenly among Americans than recent gains have been distributed.

Keywords

Competitiveness; U.S. Competitiveness; Shared Prosperity; Wealth; Competition; United States

Citation

Rivkin, Jan, Karen G. Mills, and Michael E. Porter. "The Challenge of Shared Prosperity: Findings of Harvard Business School's 2015 Survey on U.S. Competitiveness." Report, Harvard Business School, Boston, MA, September 2015 (With contributions from Michael I. Norton and Mitchell B. Weiss.)