These are not articles

The great manufacturing rebound?

Mark Twain once commented on seeing his own obituary in print, suggesting that “the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” As we begin to recover from the Great Recession, it may be time to rethink all the “obituaries” for North American manufacturing. Leading the charge is the US-based consulting firm, Boston Consulting Group, which has just released a report entitled Made in America, Again, available here as a PDF. The report cites rising Chinese wages, international currency fluctuation and a desire for shorter supply chains as key drivers of a manufacturing return to the United States. Others are seeing similar trends. In September, the Wall Street Journal reported that manufacturing is driving the economic growth of many American cities, including Raleigh-Durham (North Carolina), Titusville (Florida) and Elkhart (Indiana). Later that month, the Harvard Business Review asked “Is Manufacturing Making a Comeback?”. Economic data released in October showed that manufacturing growth in the US was accelerating. In Canada, economist Jeff Rubin’s book Why Your World is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller famously predicted a revitalization in local manufacturing, driven by energy and transportation costs. If this trend holds, it may be time to dust off the traditional industrial attraction tools.

Heel heights: the hottest trend in alternative economic indicators?

Every other day it seems like the stock markets are leaving analysts scratching their heads and changing their predictions about the future of the global economy. With all this uncertainty even the most robust indicators (including GDI and GDP) are coming into question. During the 2008 recession many pointed to consumer trends to gauge the recovery. These innovative, and sometimes just plain peculiar, indicators (see "manties",  hemlines hairstyles and other quirky indicators) have been touted by some of the world's leading economic thinkers. The latest indicator sparking Internet hype is the height of high heels. Historic patterns and trends of women's heel heights (including analysis of blogs and social media buzz by IBM) indicates that during recessions throughout the 20th century heel heights have sky rocketed. In the 2008-09 recession heel buzz peaked in the first half of 2009 at 7 inches. The good news is that recent fashion shows and blogs are showing a trend towards flats and kitten heels for spring 2012, perhaps signaling relief for the global economy and fashionistas alike.

Ranking Canadian cities' online marketing

Intelegia's recently released 2011 Canadian Cities Online Marketing Index ranks how well large Canadian economic agencies are marketing their regions online for investment attraction, business retention and other economic development purposes. As well as performance benchmarks for Canadian communities, the report provides insight into best practices based on the successes of particular economic development agencies and online marketing activities. While the ranking looks at the largest cities according to the Canadian Census Metropolitan Statistical Areas as defined by Statistics Canada, this year's edition also examines what some smaller agencies are doing with social media. The report concludes with useful planning points, making it a good resource for economic developers seeking to enhance their social web strategy. You can download the full report here for more details or watch a slideshow about the index here.

What makes a great national brand?

In an increasingly global economy, countries like Iceland and the USA have recognized the importance of nation branding. Take a look at the "Iceland Wants to Be Your Friend" campaign. Following the eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull, which interrupted travel around the world and threatened the local tourism market, the Icelandic Tourist Board used the campaign to help rebuild the country’s  image (learn more about how this exceptional campaign was created here). Iceland recently launched a new campaign to attract visitors: “Inspired by Iceland”, which (literally) invites people to visit Iceland and share their stories. This side of the Atlantic, the USA has launched  the “United States of Awesome Possibilities” brand to promote travel to the country to drive economic and job growth (visit Brand USA for more details).

So what makes a great country brand? According to the FutureBrand 2011 Country Brand Index, the most important factors that impact a country’s brand are the qualities associated with it across five dimensions: value system, quality of life, good for business, heritage and culture, and tourism. This is great news for Canada's international reputation given it recently topped FutureBrand’s ranking for the second year in a row. Switzerland came in second, followed by New Zealand, Japan, Australia, the USA, Sweden, Finland, France and Italy. You can request a download of the full report here to find out more.

Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be psychologists

There’s been a lot written about the ins and outs of the current economic climate, like this October report from the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics showing that while the national unemployment rate in the U.S was 9.0% in October, for those with at least a bachelor’s degree it was only 4.2%. To some, this means the labour market is “polarizing” – those with higher education are thriving in the new economy, while unskilled or semi-skilled workers are falling behind. But a recent report shows that not all degrees are equal in this economy. The Wall Street Journal used data from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce to study the unemployment rate by university major and found that some fields of study offered far better employment opportunities than others (click here for a larger version):

Beyond the obvious lessons for universities and colleges (and parents!), this data actually tells us a lot about the evolving shape of the 21st Century economy, for better or worse. Country singer Willie Nelson famously sang Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys. Perhaps he'll soon be working on a new version…