A dire global imbalance in creativity
There is much talk of the internationally destabilising effects of the “twin deficits” in America’s domestic budget and foreign trade. But there is a third deficit, which may prove much more troubling. This deficit, which I call the talent deficit, will affect not just the US but also the UK, Germany, Japan and other traditional economic powers.
For decades, these powers have taken for granted their net gains in the circulation of more than 150m members of the global creative class: including scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, artists, musicians and entertainers, and knowledge-based professionals in fields such as law, finance and medicine. The creative class accounts for between 30 and 40 per cent of the workforce in the advanced nations. In the US, it earns a staggering 50 per cent of all wages and salaries
