the.world.is.flat-第54部分

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Oklahoma　Center　for　the　Advancement　of　Science　and　Technology　（OCAST）；　which；　on　its　
Web　site；　describes　its　mission　as　follows：　〃In　order　to　compete　effectively　in　the　
new　economy；　Oklahoma　
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must　continue　to　develop　a　well…educated　population；　a　collaborative；　focused　
university　research　and　technology　base；　and　a　nurturing　environment　for　cutting…edge　
businesses；　from　the　smallest　start…up　to　the　largest　international　headquarters。　。　。　
＇OCAST　promotes＇　University…Business　technology　centers；　which　may　span　several　
schools　and　businesses；　resulting　in　new　businesses　being　spawned；　new　products　being　
manufactured；　and　new　manufacturing　technologies　employed。〃　No　wonder　that　in　2003；　
American　universities　reaped　1。3　billion　from　patents；　according　to　the　Association　
of　University　Technology　Managers。　


Coupled　with　America's　unique　innovation…generating　machines…universities；　public　
and　private　research　labs；　and　retailers…we　have　the　best…regulated　and　most　
efficient　capital　markets　in　the　world　for　taking　new　ideas　and　turning　them　into　
products　and　services。　Dick　Foster；　director　of　McKinsey　&　Co。　and　the　author　of　two　
books　on　innovation；　remarked　to　me；　〃We　have　an　'industrial　policy'　in　the　U。S。　…it　
is　called　the　stock　exchange；　whether　it　is　the　NYSE　or　the　Nasdaq。〃　That　is　where　
risk　capital　is　collected　and　assigned　to　emerging　ideas　or　growing　companies；　Foster　
said；　and　no　capital　market　in　the　world　does　that　better　and　more　efficiently　than　
the　American　one。　
What　makes　capital　provision　work　so　well　here　is　the　security　and　regulation　of　our　
capital　markets；　where　minority　shareholders　are　protected。　Lord　knows；　there　are　
scams；　excesses；　and　corruption　in　our　capital　markets。　That　always　happens　when　a　
lot　of　money　is　at　stake。　What　distinguishes　our　capital　markets　is　not　that　Enrons　
don't　happen　in　America…they　sure　do。　It　is　that　when　they　happen；　they　usually　get　
exposed；　either　by　the　Securities　and　Exchange　Commission　or　by　the　business　press；　
and　get　corrected。　What　makes　America　unique　is　not　Enron　but　Eliot　Spitzer；　the　
attorney　general　of　New　York　State；　who　has　doggedly　sought　to　clean　up　the　securities　
industry　and　corporate　boardrooms。　This　sort　of　capital　market　has　proved　very；　very　
difficult　to　duplicate　outside　of　New　York；　London；　Frankfurt；　and　Tokyo。　Said　Foster；　
〃China　and　India　and　other　Asian　countries　will　not　be　successful　at　innovation　until　
they　have　successful　capital　markets；　and　they　will　not　have　successful　capital　
markets　until　they　have　rule　of　law　which　protects　

minority　interests　under　conditions　of　risk　。　。　。　We　in　the　U。S。　are　the　lucky　
beneficiaries　of　centuries　of　economic　experimentation；　and　we　are　the　experiment　
that　has　worked。〃　
While　these　are　the　core　secrets　of　America's　sauce；　there　are　others　that　need　to　
be　preserved　and　nurtured。　Sometimes　you　have　to　talk　to　outsiders　to　appreciate　them；　
such　as　Indian…born　Vivek　Paul　of　Wipro。　〃I　would　add　three　to　your　list；〃　he　said　
to　me。　〃One　is　the　sheer　openness　of　American　society。〃　We　Americans　often　forget　
what　an　incredibly　open；　
say…anything…do…anything…start…anyming…go…bankrupt…and…start…anything…ag　ain　
society　the　United　States　is。　There　is　no　place　like　it　in　the　world；　and　our　openness　
is　a　huge　asset　and　attraction　to　foreigners；　many　of　whom　come　from　countries　where　
the　sky　is　not　the　limit。　
Another；　said　Paul；　is　the　〃quality　of　American　intellectual　property　protection；〃　
which　further　enhances　and　encourages　people　to　come　up　with　new　ideas。　In　a　flat　
world；　there　is　a　great　incentive　to　develop　a　new　product　or　process；　because　it　
can　achieve　global　scale　in　a　flash。　But　if　you　are　the　person　who　comes　up　with　that　
new　idea；　you　want　your　intellectual　property　protected。　〃No　country　respects　and　
protects　intellectual　property　better　than　America；〃　said　Paul；　and　as　a　result；　a　
lot　of　innovators　want　to　come　here　to　work　and　lodge　their　intellectual　property。　
The　United　States　also　has　among　the　most　flexible　labor　laws　in　the　world。　The　easier　
it　is　to　fire　someone　in　a　dying　industry；　the　easier　it　is　to　hire　someone　in　a　rising　


industry　that　no　one　knew　would　exist　five　years　earlier。　This　is　a　great　asset；　
especially　when　you　compare　the　situation　in　the　United　States　to　inflexible；　rigidly　
regulated　labor　markets　like　Germany's；　full　of　government　restrictions　on　hiring　
and　firing。　Flexibility　to　quickly　deploy　labor　and　capital　where　the　greatest　
opportunity　exists；　and　the　ability　to　quickly　redeploy　it　if　the　earlier　deployment　
is　no　longer　profitable；　is　essential　in　a　flattening　world。　
Still　another　secret　to　America's　sauce　is　the　fact　that　it　has　the　world's　largest　
domestic　consumer　market；　with　the　most　first　adopters；　in　the　world；　which　means　
that　if　you　are　introducing　a　new　product；　technology；　or　service；　you　have　to　have　
a　presence　in　America。　All　this　means　a　steady　flow　of　jobs　for　Americans。　
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There　is　also　the　little…discussed　American　attribute　of　political　stability。　Yes；　
China　has　had　a　good　run　for　the　past　twenty…five　years；　and　it　may　make　the　transition　
from　communism　to　a　more　pluralistic　system　without　the　wheels　coming　off。　But　it　
may　not。　Who　would　want　all　his　or　her　eggs　in　that　basket？　
Finally；　the　United　States　has　become　one　of　the　great　meeting　points　in　the　world；　
a　place　where　lots　of　different　people　bond　and　learn　to　trust　one　another。　An　Indian　
student　who　is　educated　at　the　University　of　Oklahoma　and　then　gets　his　first　job　
with　a　software　firm　in　Oklahoma　City　forges　bonds　of　trust　and　understanding　that　
are　really　important　for　future　collaboration；　even　if　he　winds　up　returning　to　India。　
Nothing　illustrates　this　point　better　than　Yale　University's　outsourcing　of　research　
to　China。　Yale　president　Richard　C。　Levin　explained　to　me　that　Yale　has　two　big　
research　operations　running　in　China　today；　one　at　Peking　University　in　Beijing　and　
the　other　at　Fudan　University　in　Shanghai。　〃Most　of　these　institutional　
collaborations　arise　not　from　top…down　directives　of　university　administrators；　but　
rather　from　long…standing　personal　relationships　among　scholars　and　scientists；〃　
said　Levin。　
How　did　the　Yale…Fudan　collaboration　arise？　To　begin　with；　said　Levin；　Yale　professor　
Tian　Xu；　its　director；　had　a　deep　affiliation　with　both　institutions。　He　did　his　
undergraduate　work　at　Fudan　and　received　his　Ph。D。　from　Yale。　〃Five　of　Professor　Xu's　
collaborators；　who　are　now　professors　at　Fudan；　were　also　trained　at　Yale；〃　explained　
Levin。　One　was　Professor　Xu's　friend　when　both　were　Yale　graduate　students；　another　
was　a　visiting　scholar　in　the　laboratory　of　a　Yale　colleague；　one　was　an　exchange　
student　who　came　to　Yale　from　Fudan　and　returned　to　earn　his　Ph。D。　in　China；　and　the　
other　two　were　postdoctoral　fellows　in　Professor　Xu's　Yale　lab。　A　similar　story　
underlies　the　formation　of　the　Peking…Yale　Joint　Center　for　Plant　Molecular　Genetics　
and　Agrobiotechnology。　
Professor　Xu　is　a　leading　expert　on　genetics　and　has　won　grants　from　the　National　
Institutes　of　Health　and　the　Howard　Hughes　Foundation　to　study　the　connection　between　
genetics　and　cancer　and　certain　neuro…degenerative　diseases。　This　kind　of　research　
requires　the　study　of　large　numbers　of　genetic　mutations　in　lab　animals。　〃When　you　
want　to　test　many　genes　and　trace　for　a　given　gene　that　may　be　responsible　for　cer…　
248　
tain　diseases；　you　need　to　run　a　lot　of　tests。　Having　a　bigger　staff　is　a　huge　


advantage；〃　explained　Levin。　So　what　Yale　did　was　essentially　outsource　the　lab　work　
to　Fudan　by　creating　the　Fudan…Yale　Biomedical　Research　Center。　Each　university　pays　
for　its　own　staff　and　research；　so　no　money　changes　hands；　but　the　Chinese　side　does　
the　basic　technical　work　using　large　numbers　of　technicians　and　lab　animals；　which　
cost　so　much　less　in　China；　and　Yale　does　the　high…end　analysis　of　the　data。　The　Fudan　
staff；　students；　and　technicians　get　great　exposure　to　high…end　research；　and　Yale　
gets　a　large…scale　testing　facility　that　would　have　been　prohibitively　expensive　if　
Yale　had　tried　to　duplicate　it　in　New　Haven。　A　support　lab　in　America　for　a　project　
like　this　one　might　have　30　technicians；　but　the　one　in　Fudan　has　150。　
〃The　gains　are　very　much　two…way；〃　said　Levin。　〃Our　investigators　get　substantially　
enhanced　productivity；　and　the　Chinese　get　their　graduate　students　trained；　and　their　
young　faculty　become　collaborators　with　our　professors；　who　are　the　leaders　in　their　
fields。　It　builds　human　capital　for　China　and　innovation　for　Yale。〃　Graduate　students　
from　both　universities　go　back　and　forth；　forging　relationships　that　will　no　doubt　
produce　more　collaborations　in　the　future。　At　the　same　time；　he　added；　a　lot　of　legal　
preparation　went　into　this　collaboration　to　make　sure　that　Yale　would　be　able　to　
harvest　the　intellectual　property　that　is　created。　
〃There　is　one　world　of　science　out　there；〃　said　Levin；　〃and　this　kind　of　international　
division　of　labor　makes　a　lot　of　sense。〃　Yale；　he　said；　also　insisted　that　the　working　
conditions　at　the　Chinese　labs　be　world…class；　and；　as　a　result；　it　has　also　helped　
to　lift　the　quality　of　the　Chinese　facilities。　〃The　living　conditions　of　the　lab　
animals　are　right　up　to　U。S。　standards；〃　remarked　Levin。　〃These　are　not　mouse　
sweatshops。〃　
Every　law　of　economics　tells　us　that　if　we　connect　all　the　knowledge　pools　in　the　
world；　and　promote　greater　and　greater　trade　and　integration；　the　global　pie　will　
grow　wider　and　more　complex。　And　if　America；　or　any　other　country；　nurtures　a　labor　
force　that　is　increasingly　made　up　of　men　and　women　who　are　special；　specialized；　
or　constantly　adapting　to　higher…value…added　jobs；　it　will　grab　its　slice　of　that　
growing　pie。　But　

we　will　have　to　work　at　it。　Because　if　current　trends　prevail；　countries　like　India　
and　China　and　whole　regions　like　Eastern　Europe　are　certain　to　narrow　the　gap　with　
America；　just　as　Korea　and　Japan　and　Taiwan　did　during　the　Cold　War。　They　will　keep　
upping　their　standards。　
So　are　we　still　working　at　it？　Are　we　tending　to　the　secrets　of　our　sauce？　America　
still　lo