The Breakthrough Illusion

The authors document the emergence of America ’s high-tech innovation and development-the breakthrough economy-and explain how it has failed to effectively generate new products, wealth, and economic growth. Also, whereas conventional wisdom touts the remarkable breakthroughs of the Silicon Valley and Route 128, Florida and Kenney warn that the breakthrough economy has fallen into the same trap as the old economy by viewing manufacturing and production workers as a necessary nuisance rather than an integral part of operations. Today, the new reality is that the U.S. makes the breakthroughs, while other countries, particularly Japan, provide the follow-through for American innovations.