Monday, May 28, 2007
Pittsburgh City Data Message Board
I just happened across City-Data, a website that hosts message boards for cities around the country. Here's the Pittsburgh board, which is pretty lively place, especially for folks moving to Pittsburgh from other parts of the U.S. or just plain nostalgic about Western PA.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
No News is No News
I've been traveling, grading papers, blogging elsewhere and generally staying occupied with other things for the last couple of weeks, hence the inactivity here. Also, I get bored quickly with Pittsburgh politics (plus ca change and all that), and the last couple of weeks' worth of pre- and post-election anxiety has pushed me to think about almost anything else. Yes, like most Pittsburghers I've long been aware of the key role that Pittsburgh Public Works plays in Democratic and therefore city politics. DPW is Pittsburgh's weather. Everyone complains about it; no one does anything about it.
The Great Outdoors Week came and is almost gone (I'm rehabbing a knee, so that's been no interest to me). The Three Rivers Arts Festival is about to begin. Pittsburgh went ga-ga over Dale Chihuly's glassblowing at the Phipps, without paying much attention to the fact that the celebrated sculptor doesn't, actually, blow glass. The man may be an artist, but he's a conceptual one, a la Jeff Koons or a big-time architect, not an actual craftsman.
The local blogosphere went buzz-buzz over the fact that Luke Ravenstahl doesn't own lukeravenstahl.com. That alone tells me a lot about what a slow news month this has been.
I've noticed only a couple of economic development notes nearby recently, neither of which seems to amount to much.
The other day, Pittsburgh and Cleveland put a tiny amount of meat on the bones of their plan to pool some biotechnology development resources. Right now, this seems to be more marketing talk than anything else. Not that promoting our biotech economy is a bad thing.
And today brings news of a new study that shows that PA doesn't generate much entrepreneurship. This is news? PA has a disproportionate number of older adults (less likely to start businesses), a startup-unfriendly business climate (bad tax structures) and legal climate (compared to many states, courts here are quick to enforce non-competition covenants against employees who want to start their own businesses), and a history of embracing large manufacturing businesses rather than promoting a culture of individualism and risk-taking. That guy who owns "lukeravenstahl.com"? In my book (and in trademark law), he's an entrepreneur, not a cybersquatter. Of course, he lives on the West Coast.
I'm looking forward to a summer of baseball -- Aeros, SeaWolves, Curve, Wild Things, maybe even the Pirates here and there. I hear that Pittsburgh has a beautiful ballpark and some hardworking, if sometimes underachieving, ballplayers.
The Great Outdoors Week came and is almost gone (I'm rehabbing a knee, so that's been no interest to me). The Three Rivers Arts Festival is about to begin. Pittsburgh went ga-ga over Dale Chihuly's glassblowing at the Phipps, without paying much attention to the fact that the celebrated sculptor doesn't, actually, blow glass. The man may be an artist, but he's a conceptual one, a la Jeff Koons or a big-time architect, not an actual craftsman.
The local blogosphere went buzz-buzz over the fact that Luke Ravenstahl doesn't own lukeravenstahl.com. That alone tells me a lot about what a slow news month this has been.
I've noticed only a couple of economic development notes nearby recently, neither of which seems to amount to much.
The other day, Pittsburgh and Cleveland put a tiny amount of meat on the bones of their plan to pool some biotechnology development resources. Right now, this seems to be more marketing talk than anything else. Not that promoting our biotech economy is a bad thing.
And today brings news of a new study that shows that PA doesn't generate much entrepreneurship. This is news? PA has a disproportionate number of older adults (less likely to start businesses), a startup-unfriendly business climate (bad tax structures) and legal climate (compared to many states, courts here are quick to enforce non-competition covenants against employees who want to start their own businesses), and a history of embracing large manufacturing businesses rather than promoting a culture of individualism and risk-taking. That guy who owns "lukeravenstahl.com"? In my book (and in trademark law), he's an entrepreneur, not a cybersquatter. Of course, he lives on the West Coast.
I'm looking forward to a summer of baseball -- Aeros, SeaWolves, Curve, Wild Things, maybe even the Pirates here and there. I hear that Pittsburgh has a beautiful ballpark and some hardworking, if sometimes underachieving, ballplayers.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Take Pittsburgh . . . Please
Over at Teacher.Wordsmith.Madman, Chad Hermann occasionally and patiently eviscerates an especially witless letter to the editor. I thought of Chad this morning when I read this missive to the Post-Gazette:
The cartoon that inspired the letter is reproduced below.
I don't have Chad's time or patience or rapier wit, so I won't go through this piece paragraph by paragraph. It is enough to point out that the letter epitomizes, probably unintentionally, the paralyzing parochial boosterism that characterizes much of the public side of Pittsburgh's leadership. I can't speak here to the private side; I only know what I read in the paper.
The point, and I have one, is this:
Rob Rogers is a treasure. He is a brilliant editorial cartoonist. "Brewed on Grant" is better-observed as Pittsburgh criticism than almost any and everything else distributed in western Pennsylvania media -- online, offline, on the air, in print, or over your back fence. If you haven't noticed -- and I have -- Rob loves this place. I know this because he's so good that if he didn't, he would have left long ago.
Pittsburgh wants to be a prosperous city, both locally and globally. I think that's terrific. It wants to attract new companies, new residents, and new visitors. That's great, too. There's no reason for VisitPittsburgh to apologize. But it could find a sense of humor -- and maybe throw some work Rob's way.
Pittsburgh has much to tout, so why the ridicule?
In reference to Rob Rogers' May 2 "Brewed on Grant": We understand that it is an editorial cartoonist's nature to be cynical, but why can't Mr. Rogers, for once, recognize the multitude of positive attributes that Pittsburgh has going for it? Together, these attributes have enabled Pittsburgh to earn well-deserved recognition, such as being named "America's Most Livable City." While outsiders recognize what a great city we have, we remain our own worst critics.
We should take pride in this honor, just as we should in being named the "Best Arts Destination" among mid-sized cities this year by American Style magazine. We're pleased that such an esteemed publication as Forbes magazine recognizes the city's transformation by ranking Pittsburgh among the Top 10 of the "World's Cleanest Cities." This kind of recognition helps to erase the negative stereotypes (perpetuated by cartoons such as this one) of the Pittsburgh of yesteryear.
We take pride in knowing that Pittsburgh was also named one of North America's top three "Cities of the Future" by an affiliate magazine of the Financial Times. The city also ranks among "America's 50 Hottest Cities" for business relocation and expansion, according to Expansion Management magazine. We've got one of the best ballparks in the nation, according to Major League Baseball, another well-deserved distinction of which we should be proud.
Thanks to our proximity to top-ranked engineering schools and other factors, Pittsburgh ranks seventh for "Top Cities for Geeks" by Wired magazine. Our marriage and divorce rates earn us the No. 1 place in the country for baby boomers to find love and keep it.
Perhaps Mr. Rogers would better serve Pittsburgh residents by embracing these well-deserved honors instead of ridiculing them.
JEFFREY W. LETWIN
Chairman, VisitPittsburgh
Downtown
The cartoon that inspired the letter is reproduced below.
I don't have Chad's time or patience or rapier wit, so I won't go through this piece paragraph by paragraph. It is enough to point out that the letter epitomizes, probably unintentionally, the paralyzing parochial boosterism that characterizes much of the public side of Pittsburgh's leadership. I can't speak here to the private side; I only know what I read in the paper.
The point, and I have one, is this:
Rob Rogers is a treasure. He is a brilliant editorial cartoonist. "Brewed on Grant" is better-observed as Pittsburgh criticism than almost any and everything else distributed in western Pennsylvania media -- online, offline, on the air, in print, or over your back fence. If you haven't noticed -- and I have -- Rob loves this place. I know this because he's so good that if he didn't, he would have left long ago.
Pittsburgh wants to be a prosperous city, both locally and globally. I think that's terrific. It wants to attract new companies, new residents, and new visitors. That's great, too. There's no reason for VisitPittsburgh to apologize. But it could find a sense of humor -- and maybe throw some work Rob's way.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Diasporans Speak
Harold Miller is on a roll: His latest post features anonymous Diasporans speaking about how they wished the Pittsburgh economy were strong enough to keep them here. One of Harold's commenters is an alum of my law school, and he/she tells a tale that I've heard more than once from my former students. After months or years of trying to scratching out a career locally, they move to DC / New York / Boston / Austin, and the world is their oyster. Or they give up the romance of working independently and entrepreneurially, and retreat to the security of the Big Firm.
All the data in the world about livability doesn't mean a thing if it can't be integrated into a narrative about inclusion and expansion and opportunity. Take a look at Bill Steigerwald's recent Reason column on Pittsburgh's "death spiral" (and this is *after* release of the livability data!). The column is gloomier than it needs to be, but it benefits from an air of plausibility. Pittsburgh sure feels stagnant, doesn't it? Technically, it's sort of stagnant and sort of not, depending on which way you slice the numbers; sure, the outmigration data don't tell the real story about population change in the Pittsburgh region, and the "most polluted" data are skewed by where the data were collected. The problem is this: Where's the synthesizing narrative to back that up? That points to economic Springtime in Pittsburgh?
Please, someone, point me to a Counter to Bill's Point, an essay that talks about how young professionals came to Pittsburgh a few years ago to join or establish a new business, networked seamlessly in the interstices of Pittsburgh's economic establishment and found that no one cared where they went to high school or whether they had ever failed at anything. That talks about how they found enthusiastic mentors steeped in Pittsburgh's ways yet eager to blaze new paths. How they found eager future suppliers, partners, clients, and customers; credit at reasonable cost that bore in mind the inevitability of past failure; a business- and family-friendly regulatory climate (low business taxes, sane real estate taxes); and a political system best characterized as benign.
In short, Pittsburgh needs Harold Miller to post happy endings.
Maybe there's a Manifesto/Diaspora project in here. Can the Diaspora write the story of the New Pittsburgh? Endings both sad and happy; happy is best, but the truth is what everyone needs to hear. For a start, Diasporans need a place to write that's more visible than blog comments. Ideas?
All the data in the world about livability doesn't mean a thing if it can't be integrated into a narrative about inclusion and expansion and opportunity. Take a look at Bill Steigerwald's recent Reason column on Pittsburgh's "death spiral" (and this is *after* release of the livability data!). The column is gloomier than it needs to be, but it benefits from an air of plausibility. Pittsburgh sure feels stagnant, doesn't it? Technically, it's sort of stagnant and sort of not, depending on which way you slice the numbers; sure, the outmigration data don't tell the real story about population change in the Pittsburgh region, and the "most polluted" data are skewed by where the data were collected. The problem is this: Where's the synthesizing narrative to back that up? That points to economic Springtime in Pittsburgh?
Please, someone, point me to a Counter to Bill's Point, an essay that talks about how young professionals came to Pittsburgh a few years ago to join or establish a new business, networked seamlessly in the interstices of Pittsburgh's economic establishment and found that no one cared where they went to high school or whether they had ever failed at anything. That talks about how they found enthusiastic mentors steeped in Pittsburgh's ways yet eager to blaze new paths. How they found eager future suppliers, partners, clients, and customers; credit at reasonable cost that bore in mind the inevitability of past failure; a business- and family-friendly regulatory climate (low business taxes, sane real estate taxes); and a political system best characterized as benign.
In short, Pittsburgh needs Harold Miller to post happy endings.
Maybe there's a Manifesto/Diaspora project in here. Can the Diaspora write the story of the New Pittsburgh? Endings both sad and happy; happy is best, but the truth is what everyone needs to hear. For a start, Diasporans need a place to write that's more visible than blog comments. Ideas?
University Tech Transfer
My colleague Mark Lemley, who teaches intellectual property law at Stanford and who is one the country's most innovative thinkers on information law and policy topics, has posted a new manuscript to a website that hosts initial versions of law professors' work product. Unusually for a law review article, Mark's paper is potentially of broad interest to the economic development community and to university tech transfer offices in particular. Here's the title and the relevant portion of the abstract:
"Are Universities Patent Trolls?"
Link to full paper: Stanford Public Law Working Paper No. 980776
"Are Universities Patent Trolls?"
Link to full paper: Stanford Public Law Working Paper No. 980776
The confluence of two significant developments in modern patent practice leads me to write a paper with such a provocative title. The first development is the rise of hold-up as a primary component of patent litigation and patent licensing. The second development in the last three decades is the massive surge in university patenting. At the confluence of these developments is a growing frustration on the part of industry with the role of universities as patent owners. Time and again, when I talk to people in a variety of industries, their view is that universities are the new patent trolls.
In this paper, I argue that Universities should take a broader view of their role in technology transfer. University technology transfer ought to have as its goal maximizing the social impact of technology, not merely maximizing the university's licensing revenue. Sometimes those goals will coincide with the university's short-term financial interests. Sometimes universities will maximize the impact of an invention on society by granting exclusive licenses for substantial revenue to a company that will take the invention and commercialize it. Sometimes, but not always. At other times a non-exclusive license, particularly on a basic enabling technology, will ultimately maximize the invention's impact on society by allowing a large number of people to commercialize in different areas, to try out different things and see if they work, and the like.
University policies might be made more nuanced than simply a choice between exclusive and nonexclusive licenses. For example, they might grant field-specific exclusivity, or exclusivity only for a limited term, or exclusivity only for commercial sales while exempting research, and they might condition continued exclusivity on achievement of certain dissemination goals. Finally, particularly in the software context, there are many circumstances in which the social impact of technology transfer is maximized either by the university not patenting at all or by granting licenses to those patents on a royalty-free basis to all comers.
Visualizing Job Growth
Harold Miller has posted some graphical illustrations of his recent observations about job growth in the Pittsburgh region - or the lack thereof.
As JP observes in a comment on Harold's post, the data illustrate two phenomena which may be independent of one another: Pittsburgh's trend line lags the national trend by about a year, more or less. And Pittsburgh's growth rate overall remains significantly below the national average.
As JP observes in a comment on Harold's post, the data illustrate two phenomena which may be independent of one another: Pittsburgh's trend line lags the national trend by about a year, more or less. And Pittsburgh's growth rate overall remains significantly below the national average.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Harold Miller on Slow Job Growth
Harold Miller has a very interesting post up today about job growth in the Pittsburgh region. The thesis: "[W]e’re not creating the jobs needed to attract new residents to the region. In fact, there are over 16,000 fewer jobs in the Pittsburgh Region today than there were six years ago."
Harold argues that job losses across the board can be traced to an "uncompetitive business climate." He also notes that Pittsburgh's growing dependence on jobs in health care poses risks, given the likelihood of future regulation of that sector. A question: Where should job growth be occurring -- that is, in what sectors of the regional economy?
Harold argues that job losses across the board can be traced to an "uncompetitive business climate." He also notes that Pittsburgh's growing dependence on jobs in health care poses risks, given the likelihood of future regulation of that sector. A question: Where should job growth be occurring -- that is, in what sectors of the regional economy?
Thursday, May 03, 2007
The Diaspora in Business
Julia DiNardo's Neighbor Teaze line of Pittsburgh-oriented t-shirts is the Diaspora in action. Tres cool. But couldn't the models have heads?
[Via the PG, not once, but twice.]
[Via the PG, not once, but twice.]
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Ethics in Journalism 101
I wasn't going to blog about my encounter with TMNJ, but the story took a puzzling turn.
Yesterday, I spent quite a while on the phone being interviewed by Paula Ward, a writer for the Post-Gazette, regarding a trademark lawsuit filed against a South Side video store. The store owner is accused of violating federal trademark law in his use of an image of one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (hence, TMNJ). This morning, the PG ran a large story under her byline, and I was quoted (accurately -- thank you!) several times. I doubt that the issue is important enough to warrant such a big spread -- this is really a garden variety trademark law dispute -- but there you are.
In an online posting later today, the Tribune Review simply copied -- there is no other word -- the Post-Gazette's reporting. Here's a link to the story: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_505716.html. In it, the Trib uses -- verbatim -- a quote that I gave the PG, and that appeared in the PG's story this morning. Yet the Trib didn't call me to get a quote on their own. (The Trib didn't call me at all.) Audacious! Brazen, even! And for what? A story about turtles and trademarks? It's not as if Pittsburgh's fate hangs in the balance of disseminating the information. If you're going to copy something that you shouldn't, at least go large.
I don't care so much on my own behalf, since the quote that the Trib used was, after all, accurate to begin with. But the Trib simply eradicates whatever is left of journalistic ethics. This is worse than lazy; it's knowing appropriation of the PG's reporting. Folks in the PG newsroom might even call it sleazy.
UPDATED at 7:35 p.m. 5/03/07:
Sleazy gets sleazier. If you click on the Tribune Review link above (i.e., pittsburghlive.com), you'll see that the story carries an Associated Press byline. Yesterday, however, when the story was first posted, it carried a Tribune Review byline. There was no reference to the AP -- and yes, I looked. I also saved an electronic copy of the file, and I printed it out. If anyone cares enough to double check, I'd be happy to send you the file or a scanned copy of the original text.
In other words, the Trib went back and *changed* the original post to fix the attribution problem. There is no way to know whether this was done in response to my post above, but I saved the original file and printed a copy for a reason: at least once before, in my experience, the Trib has reached in and "corrected" the electronic record.
Yesterday, I spent quite a while on the phone being interviewed by Paula Ward, a writer for the Post-Gazette, regarding a trademark lawsuit filed against a South Side video store. The store owner is accused of violating federal trademark law in his use of an image of one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (hence, TMNJ). This morning, the PG ran a large story under her byline, and I was quoted (accurately -- thank you!) several times. I doubt that the issue is important enough to warrant such a big spread -- this is really a garden variety trademark law dispute -- but there you are.
In an online posting later today, the Tribune Review simply copied -- there is no other word -- the Post-Gazette's reporting. Here's a link to the story: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_505716.html. In it, the Trib uses -- verbatim -- a quote that I gave the PG, and that appeared in the PG's story this morning. Yet the Trib didn't call me to get a quote on their own. (The Trib didn't call me at all.) Audacious! Brazen, even! And for what? A story about turtles and trademarks? It's not as if Pittsburgh's fate hangs in the balance of disseminating the information. If you're going to copy something that you shouldn't, at least go large.
I don't care so much on my own behalf, since the quote that the Trib used was, after all, accurate to begin with. But the Trib simply eradicates whatever is left of journalistic ethics. This is worse than lazy; it's knowing appropriation of the PG's reporting. Folks in the PG newsroom might even call it sleazy.
UPDATED at 7:35 p.m. 5/03/07:
Sleazy gets sleazier. If you click on the Tribune Review link above (i.e., pittsburghlive.com), you'll see that the story carries an Associated Press byline. Yesterday, however, when the story was first posted, it carried a Tribune Review byline. There was no reference to the AP -- and yes, I looked. I also saved an electronic copy of the file, and I printed it out. If anyone cares enough to double check, I'd be happy to send you the file or a scanned copy of the original text.
In other words, the Trib went back and *changed* the original post to fix the attribution problem. There is no way to know whether this was done in response to my post above, but I saved the original file and printed a copy for a reason: at least once before, in my experience, the Trib has reached in and "corrected" the electronic record.
Imagine What Pittsburgh Can Do
My title today reverses the "official" slogan of the Pittsburgh 250 celebration ("Imagine What You Can Do Here") in the spirit of the Manifesto, Pittsburgh being virtual and metaphoric and well as physical and literal.
To that end, can the Pittsburgh Diaspora take advantage of the Community Connections funding being made available for community development as part of the anniversary celebration? If I'm reading the site correctly, there is up to $1 million being made avaiable.
This is what CC is looking for:
While you're thinking about Manifesto- and Diaspora-ish projects, the Manifesto/Diaspora needs a logo. Something that captures the connections theme and simultaneously captures Pittsburgh. Something more compelling than the Community Connections logo (below). I'm thinking of running a contest -- all entrants, including the winner, get to keep their copyrights. The winner agrees to license the logo under a Creative Commons attribution-noncommercial-no derivative works license. The logo would go up here at Pittsblog and could be hosted and posted by anyone who wants to support the Manifesto and/or signify being part of the Diaspora. Thoughts?
To that end, can the Pittsburgh Diaspora take advantage of the Community Connections funding being made available for community development as part of the anniversary celebration? If I'm reading the site correctly, there is up to $1 million being made avaiable.
This is what CC is looking for:
Community Connections wants to hear your ideas, both large and small! We believe that the spirit of your work is what this region was built upon. So, our goal is to help your plan come to life. Keeping in mind the scope of this program, the projects that you submit to Community Connections must fit the theme of “Pride & Progress” and fall into one of the three categories outlined below.
Regional Projects
Regional Projects will involve large areas of the region or large population groups and be eligible to receive grants up to $50,000. These large-scale projects will be chosen by a panel of representatives from the 14-county area and should be spearheaded by established community groups. An important thing to keep in mind while generating ideas for Regional Projects is that one of the primary goals should be that it has a lasting impact on the region.
Community Connections wants to hear your ideas, both large and small! We believe that the spirit of your work is what this region was built upon. So, our goal is to help your plan come to life. Keeping in mind the scope of this program, the projects that you submit to Community Connections must fit the theme of “Pride & Progress” and fall into one of the three categories outlined below.
Regional Projects
Regional Projects will involve large areas of the region or large population groups and be eligible to receive grants up to $50,000. These large-scale projects will be chosen by a panel of representatives from the 14-county area and should be spearheaded by established community groups. An important thing to keep in mind while generating ideas for Regional Projects is that one of the primary goals should be that it has a lasting impact on the region.
Grassroots Projects
Grassroots Projects will be smaller in scale than the Regional Projects and should be developed and led by local community members. These projects will involve local residents and organizations and be focused on local interests. A decisionmaking panel comprised of leaders from each individual county will decide which projects are to be awarded grants up to $5,000 apiece. Through these projects, Community Connections hopes to create a groundswell of activity indicative of the character of our region.
Affiliated Projects
Affiliated Projects do not require monetary support, but will be endorsed and promoted as part of Community Connections. These ideas will run in conjunction with Regional and Grassroots Projects while supporting the vision of Community Connections—Pride & Progress.
Project Selection
During the project selection period, three important criteria will be used to award grants. Grant-winning projects should build long-lasting and valuable relationships between organizations and communities, be dedicated to civic engagement, and join in the overall spirit of Pittsburgh’s 250th anniversary celebration. With awards totaling $1 million, this initiative will play an important role in the communities surrounding Pittsburgh during 2008 and beyond—catalyzing positive change for our region and its citizens for generations to come.
While you're thinking about Manifesto- and Diaspora-ish projects, the Manifesto/Diaspora needs a logo. Something that captures the connections theme and simultaneously captures Pittsburgh. Something more compelling than the Community Connections logo (below). I'm thinking of running a contest -- all entrants, including the winner, get to keep their copyrights. The winner agrees to license the logo under a Creative Commons attribution-noncommercial-no derivative works license. The logo would go up here at Pittsblog and could be hosted and posted by anyone who wants to support the Manifesto and/or signify being part of the Diaspora. Thoughts?
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Pittsburgh Most Polluted
Pittsburgh got less than a week to bask in its recovered "most livable city" glory before the American Lung Association came out with this not-such-a-stunner:
Rated on the quality of its air, Pittsburgh is the second most polluted city in the United States. Here's a county-by-county breakdown of PA's State of the Air.
More recent local data show local particulate counts headed downward, which is good news. It's fine to get all choked up about living in a livable city, but no one wants to take that advice too literally.
Out in California, the Governator is so incensed by the fact that Los Angeles is #1 in the rankings that he's threatening to sue the EPA to allow him to impose stricter air quality rules than the ones provided under federal law. Here in Allegheny County, we're fighting over whether people should be allowed to smoke in bars and restaurants. Priorities! If the smokers want to smoke, then let them smoke alone. Patronize smoke-free restaurants. Here's a list.
Rated on the quality of its air, Pittsburgh is the second most polluted city in the United States. Here's a county-by-county breakdown of PA's State of the Air.
More recent local data show local particulate counts headed downward, which is good news. It's fine to get all choked up about living in a livable city, but no one wants to take that advice too literally.
Out in California, the Governator is so incensed by the fact that Los Angeles is #1 in the rankings that he's threatening to sue the EPA to allow him to impose stricter air quality rules than the ones provided under federal law. Here in Allegheny County, we're fighting over whether people should be allowed to smoke in bars and restaurants. Priorities! If the smokers want to smoke, then let them smoke alone. Patronize smoke-free restaurants. Here's a list.
Welcome to the Blogosphere: Robert Lowe
Rob Lowe, CMU entrepreneurship and tech transfer researcher and Director of Enterprise Creation (I believe that's still his title), has launched a blog: "Mock Economy."
Rob's inaugural post is about Baumol's theory of destructive entrepreneurship. That's an interesting place for a local expert on university-based economic development to start. A couple of years ago, I heard local tech transfer administrators use the phrase "destructive entreneurship" to defend the idea that universities should pick winners when deciding which faculty research to promote and commercialize, and which to hold back. Too many startups, apparently, would dilute the pool of qualified private management and follow-on investment.
I didn't hear references to Baumol in this pitch, and I'm pretty sure that they were misusing Baumol's theory, and in any case I am optimistic that Pitt and CMU have both moved beyond the "picking winners" approach. It will be interesting to read whether Baumol has anyhthing to do with Pittsburgh today.
Link: http://mockeconomy.blogspot.com/
Rob's inaugural post is about Baumol's theory of destructive entrepreneurship. That's an interesting place for a local expert on university-based economic development to start. A couple of years ago, I heard local tech transfer administrators use the phrase "destructive entreneurship" to defend the idea that universities should pick winners when deciding which faculty research to promote and commercialize, and which to hold back. Too many startups, apparently, would dilute the pool of qualified private management and follow-on investment.
I didn't hear references to Baumol in this pitch, and I'm pretty sure that they were misusing Baumol's theory, and in any case I am optimistic that Pitt and CMU have both moved beyond the "picking winners" approach. It will be interesting to read whether Baumol has anyhthing to do with Pittsburgh today.
Link: http://mockeconomy.blogspot.com/
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