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The Information Age has transformed the world economy, increasing productivity through innovation, automation, and the speed and ease of communications. It has also added momentum to the process of globalization, blurring economic borders as growing competition pushes manufacturing and other industries to developing countries where labor costs are lower.
The emergence of the ”New Economy” spawned by these changes has redefined the nature of work and skills needed in Metro Boston’s increasingly knowledge-based economy. It has intensified the importance of the ”knowledge worker” — a highly skilled and well-educated individual with the ability to “learn and re-learn.” It has also increased the importance of Metro Boston as a place where demographic diversity, business infrastructure, and the ease and frequency of interpersonal interactions come together to support the human resource and business base. Growing competition is generating the need for new collaborations and shared leadership.
Boston’s status as the institutional, cultural and financial capital of New England positions it well as a global economic player. An anchor and magnet for business, tourism, and technological expertise for secondary cities in the region, it also has the unique locational advantage of proximity to other major centers of government, commerce and culture, including Washington, D.C, New York City and Europe.
The region’s reputation as an exporter of ideas and expertise rests on its substantial educational and research infrastructure, and a strong nonprofit sector. Boston regularly exports consulting expertise across the world, supporting initiatives from the development of groundbreaking new software to research in high-tech sectors to social sector innovations in community-based health care and youth programming. To maintain the strong competitive rankings the region has earned, it must keep a sustained focus on innovation and grow and retain its pool of knowledge workers.
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