Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced a suite of new policies and investments aimed at catalyzing the nation’s economy through science, innovation and entrepreneurship. The National Innovation and Science Plan would fund university research, invest in K-12 and university STEM programs, limit the financial risks of entrepreneurship, invest in technology commercialization programs, and introduce a new class of visa for entrepreneurs. The changes would also enable equity-based crowdfunding and provide tax credits for early stage investment.

As the Federal Aviation Administration continues to propose regulations around the fledging unmanned aircraft system (UAS) industry in order to ensure that it integrates into the current system as well as possible, states are beginning to act in order to improve their own competitiveness.

In an effort to increase the proliferation and participation of venture capital firms across the 28-nation European Union, changes are needed at the institutional level, according to the capital markets union plan unveiled last month.

Across the globe, the proliferation of innovation-led economic development is typically viewed in an urban context. Despite cities receiving the bulk of the attention, researchers have begun to focus on how to leverage best practices in rural economic development. Just as is the case in nearly all economic development scenarios, practitioners and policymakers working in rural areas benefit from a better understanding of local strengths and opportunities, according to new research from the United States, Canada, and the European Union.

Over 150 heads of state met in Paris this week, the largest group of leaders ever to attend a UN event in a single day, to address global climate change and the need for policies and technologies that will set the world on the path to a low-carbon, climate resilient future.

A mixture of success and trepidation accompanied 2016 legislation introduced in  several states to create, extend, or recapitalize angel tax credit programs. While legislation in Arizona’s legislature failed due to a lack of support, angel tax credit bills in Kansas and Tennessee passed easily with broad support from their governors, lawmakers, and the public. In North Dakota, the state’s angel tax credit program faces an unclear future due to concerns about transparency and oversight. To stimulate investments in West Virginia’s startup community, Gov.

One of the recurring characteristics of entrepreneurs, based on numerous biographies and case studies, is a driven self-confidence that may border, in some circles, as excessive or even narcissistic. Closer scrutiny, of course, shows there is no such thing as the “self-made” person, but entrepreneurship still is described often as a heroic, lone-wolf quest. Is it paradoxical to advocate for and even expect mentoring and “how to” entrepreneurship training to work? Wouldn’t “real” entrepreneurs leading promising startups succeed without the advice? A recent working paper describes an experiment that attempted to address this issue.

U.S. companies spent 18 percent of their research and development dollars outside of the United States in 2013, according to data recently released by the NSF. The $73 billion in foreign R&D is concentrated in the information industry, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and automobiles and parts. Those four industries accounted for 52 percent of all foreign R&D performance by U.S.

The perils of regional economies being too dependent on single industry clusters, particularly as it affects the financing of state governments, are playing out in the Great Plains. Kansas, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Wyoming have been or still are experiencing recessions, beginning as early as spring 2015 for two, according to a new analysis by Jason P. Brown for the Tenth Federal Reserve District.

SSTI continues its reporting on actions taken by state legislatures to invest in economic growth through science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. This week, we look at the budgets passed and signed by governors in Iowa, New York and North Dakota, finding mostly level and some increased funding for innovation programs in Iowa and New York – including free tuition at in-state colleges for qualifying residents – while North Dakota is looking at decreased funding for programs.

When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released his administration’s proposed 2016 budget in late March, SSTI covered the significant funds it would allocate for science, research, and technology-based economic development, as well as the country’s plan for a national innovation agenda.

North Dakota led the country in per capita personal income gains between 2010-2015, according to data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). While average (mean) incomes rose 18.4 percent around the U.S. during that time, North Dakota incomes rose by 26.8 percent from $42,964 in 2010 to $54,376 in 2015. Changes in mean income can obscure discrepancies between demographic groups and concentration of wealth, but demonstrate some of the key economic trends of the last few years.