Economic growth is a fascinating topic and Eliot Spitzer adds to it in "Inventing a new Economy," in Slate (December 28, 2009). It was impossible not to compare it to Arnold Kling and Nick Schulz's book, "From Poverty to Prosperity," which I [Brooks M. Wilson] continue to enjoy, savoring their insights and those gleaned from many great economists, and on which I recently posted ("Kling and Schulz: The Importance of Markets"). Spitzer's article is worthwhile reading, and his main point that the United States needs to remain a creative, innovative society is correct, but he makes several economic errors which perhaps can be forgiven because he is an attorney/politician/journalist, not an economist.
Spitzer describes ideas and the resultant innovations as an international competition in which countries win or lose depending on their ability to turn ideas into innovations.
Original Article: Brooks Wilson's Economics Blog: Spitzer on Innovation
