In 1989, the MIT Commission on Industrial Productivity produced the Made in America report. One of the recommendations of Made in America was to establish the Industrial Performance Center (IPC) to carry on the interdisciplinary investigations of industrial productivity, innovation, and competitiveness that the Commission had begun. Established in 1991, with the help of a major grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the IPC has brought together faculty and students from all five MIT Schools in research collaborations on industry. Since its inception, the faculty, students and affiliates of the IPC have produced numerous books, articles, papers and other publications that have advanced the understanding of strategic, technological, and organizational developments in a broad range of industries.
Report | September 1, 2023
Building the Infrastructure for Innovation: Three Lessons from the CHIPS and Science Act
A spotlight is on the U.S. semiconductor industry. After decades of decline, there is a wave of new investment from private industry and the federal government to jumpstart domestic chipmaking with the goal of making U.S. semiconductor production more cost competitive and technologically advanced. Whereas the United States did not have any chipmaking capacity at […]
Working Paper | July 24, 2023
Radical Technological Innovations and How to Promote Them
New technologies that exhibit large (>10x) jumps in performance limits compared to incumbent technologies are radical technological innovations. This paper considers three cases that exhibit such jumps: the evolution of engines from the early 18th to the late 20th century (with the transition from coal-based steam engines to hydrocarbon-based internal combustion engines); the evolution of […]
Book | March 6, 2023
Learning by Building: Complementary Assets and the Migration of Capabilities in U.S. Innovative Firms
As policymakers in the United States debate how the economy can regain its vitality following the Great Recession, many see innovation as the key to prosperity.
Report | August 8, 2022
Where are the Good Jobs in Manufacturing?
American manufacturing has experienced a new wave of energy and investment. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, market demand for U.S. manufacturing has grown, and new policies like the CHIPS and Science Act have dedicated new public investment to the future of domestic production. Despite this momentum, manufacturers have faced a persistent challenge as […]
Article | March 21, 2022
Unraveling the Silicon Valley Consensus
The Silicon Valley Consensus is that innovative cities grow faster than non-innovative ones—but that’s not always the case.
Article | March 21, 2022
Why Innovation Hubs Fail
Successful innovation hubs depend on who is leading, and how.
Article | March 21, 2022
Industrial Policy and Local Economic Transformation: Evidence From the U.S. Rust Belt
State and local governments frequently invest in policies aimed at stimulating the growth of new industries, but studies of industrial policy and related economic development initiatives cast doubt on their effectiveness.
Article | March 21, 2022
The Puzzle of the Missing Robots
Robots in particular are the object of public concerns about employment. But in most American manufacturing plants—particularly small and medium firms.
Report | March 21, 2022
The Work of the Future: Shaping Technology and Institutions
Economic and social disruptions often accompanied changes, with painful and lasting results for workers, their families, and communities. Along the way, valuable skills, industries, and ways of life were lost.
Book | January 10, 2022
The Work of the Future, Building Better Jobs in an Age of Intelligent Machines
Why the United States lags behind other industrialized countries in sharing the benefits of innovation with workers and how we can remedy the problem.
Book | April 27, 2021
Compressed Development
This book proposes a new way to approach comparative international development by focusing on time and timing in economic and social development.
Report | March 21, 2021
Advanced Technology, Advanced Training: A New Policy Agenda for U.S. Manufacturing
The U.S. military relies on manufacturers – particularly small and medium manufacturing firms – to sustain the defense supply chain, and a substantial share of U.S. manufacturing firms count DoD as a customer.