Introduction: The Time for a Global Reach Has Come
The introduction of the concept of a Creative Class has changed the world (Mellander and Florida 7). The given phenomenon has offered an opportunity for not only evaluating the efficiency of the states in a new and unbiased way, but also for exploring new avenues of economic development.
Florida, with his concept of the Three Ts, has, in his turn, suggested a new method of calculating states’ rates of economic performance numerically. Although the given method seems to be working quite well within the current business and economy setting, it still obviously lacks a very important element.
Thesis statement: even though Florida’s theory of three Ts sounds legitimate and encompasses the key elements required for conducting a comparative analysis between the economic performances of the states, it lacks a political insight, which can make the given model viable within the present-day globalized environment.
Watching the Principle of Three Ts Set in Motion: Examples and Their Analyses
It should be noted that for several states, the formula suggested by Florida has proven right. Indeed, when tracking down the history of economical development of some of the states that top the lists of the most economically successful countries, one may notice that each of them introduced one or more components listed by Florida into its structure.
Taking a closer look at some of the most famous examples will help figure out how efficient the principle of the three Ts is and whether sustaining these components of social, economical and political life is enough for a state to enhance its progress.
Technology and economical development: a disruptive force
The effect of disruptive technology is often compared to that one of a revolution, except the loss of people’s lives and the following devastation. On the one hand, technological development gives chances for offering new products to the global market and, therefore, for the rapid growth of SMEs; on the other hand; technologies demand fast adjustment.
When it comes to defining the positive effects of technology on the economic evolution of some of the world’s most influential states, the example of the USA should be provided: “Today, we see many rapidly evolving, potentially transformative technologies on the horizon—spanning information technologies, biological sciences, material science, energy, and other fields” (Dobbs & Manyika, 2013, p. 2).
Indeed, while the state has clearly faced a number of crises over the past few decades, it still manages to be on top due to the introduction of the technological component, which, with the state’s policy on tolerance and with a massive brain leakage into the U.S. state universities makes a case for Florida’s Three Ts Theory.
Talent: a binding constraint in economic growth
There are other examples in which the lack of such a component as talent has blocked the way for the state to introduce the phenomenon of a Creative Class into its economic structure. However, with the appearance of some kind of intellectual potential, a state obtains an opportunity to rise from ashes (Florida 3).
A very graphic example of talent being the driving force behind the process of building a state’s Creative Class potential, the case of the United States and the changes that numerous immigrants introduced the state to deserves to be brought up. As the recent researches explain, “A binding constraint in generating innovations is the supply of highly talented scientists, engineers, and other technical personnel.
Immigration helps relax this constraint” (Hanson, 26). While the United States has been known for their tolerant attitudes and technological innovations, it was the influx of talented developers who came up with even more challenging ideas and contributed to their implementation.
Tolerance: Sweden, its free trade policy and Swedish SMEs
Even though tolerance hardly is an economic factor, it does shape the evolution of the Creative Class, as the recent research carried out in Sweden has shown. The state traditionally considered as one of the most tolerant ones, Sweden tops the list of the Creative Class members number in global cities (Florida 270).
The case study carried out by Berggren sheds some light on the given phenomenon: “Tolerance and economic openness are two values that have underpinned our long and staunch support for free trade, which has allowed Swedish companies to grow and prosper and, even in some cases, become world-leading” (Berggren 37).
By admitting rights to its every single citizen disregarding his/her political, religious or sexual preferences, as well as any other specifics that would cause his/her discrimination in a less enlightened society, Sweden has proven its progress and provided the environment in which not only the traditional entrepreneurship but also intrapreneurship could evolve, and the rise of creative class could take place (Berggren 38).
Analysis: socio-economic improvement and high hopes for the future
Florida does an admittedly good job by defining the elements that allow evaluating the performance of the world states based on completely new and updated standards that correspond to the demands of the globalized environment. It is remarkable that he does not pick the elements that belong to the same category, e.g., economy, or politics; instead, he adds three fields to the mix. Thus, a balanced approach towards a state performance evaluation becomes possible.
The examples of the states mentioned above, however, show that the rule of 3 Ts works well for most of the states at present in terms of improving their economic growth score. Each of the states mentioned above had two of the key components correct yet needed improvement in the third one, and each did quite well. However, some of the details regarding the economic growth of the states listed above allow for a fresh look at the concept of 3 Ts.
As the example of the U.S. shows, the aspect concerning Talent was improved considerably after the influx of immigrants. Therefore, the bulk of the Creative Class does not have to consist of the natives. The idea that immigrants can become members of the Creative Class and help the state evolve may reinvent the current stringent policies regarding immigration and, therefore, cause a major change in the relationships between states.
Counterarguments to Consider: What Needs to Be Fixed
Nevertheless, claiming that Florida’s theory is flawless will mean making too much of exaggeration. It does have its problems, the key one being the question of whether three factors are enough to define a state’s success. The theory of 3 Ts needs to be turned into 4 Ts at the very least.
When it comes to defining what actually helped certain states to succeed, one ill find out that such countries as Sweden, the USA, Switzerland, etc. have not only introduced advanced technology, out the emphasis on the talent and abilities of their Creative Class and made tolerance a common practice in most of the entrepreneurship but also worked on a number of issues including cultural and educational aspects.
While the former might seem somewhat complicated to embrace and can technically be related to the tolerance category, the educational element is worth taking a closer look at.
Changes and their cost: introducing the required Ts
One of the things that should be kept in mind, though, is the fact that technology alone does not guarantee economic success; despite a relatively successful application of the latest technological advances in several states, their rating in terms of their creative class members seems to leave much to be desired. Which is even more impressive, some of the world’s leading states are among those that do not seem to have enough CC percentage:
Some economists question whether technology can still deliver the kind of wide-ranging, profound impact that the introduction of the automobile or the semiconductor chip had, and point to data showing slowing productivity growth in the United States and the United Kingdom – often early adopters of new technology – as evidence. (Dobbs and Manyika 2)
Therefore, technological advances alone never obviously lead to the evolution of the Creative Class. Instead, technology only serves as an important component of what enhances the CC development. To encourage technological breakthrough, one should consider the technological potential of the state, which, in its turn, is predisposed by such factors as education and professional training.
Brain leakage and related concerns
According to Florida, the second T that makes the bulk of his theory concerns talent. True, the given element does make an integral part of the Creative Class evolution. However, it also demands that the state should either make efficient use of the immigrant specialists or that the education system within the state in question should be improved a few notches.
While the former may cause concerns among the representatives of the native workforce, the latter presupposes that a very long process of reforming education system should be carried out. In their turn, less economically successful states will doubtlessly experience impressive brain leakage, which will drain their human resources to an even greater degree.
Synthesis: In Search for the Missing Component
As it has been stressed above, in most cases, the three Ts specified by Florida make the bulk for the evaluation of the current economical status of a state. However, when it comes to defining the avenues for further development of the state, the results of the three Ts analysis does not seem to suffice. There has to be one more element that will help assess a country’s potential for an economic recovery, that element being education.
Education is seldom related to economic excellence, yet it clearly should, seeing how the efficacy of school and high school programs is the factor that the quality of the workforce, technology and many other elements that predetermine economic growth depend on. By evaluating the quality of the education system and suggesting the means to improve it, one can reach economic excellence.
Conclusion: The Fourth T That Needs to Be Set in Motion
When it comes to defining the component that Florida seems to have overlooked in his definition of the three Ts, it is necessary to stress that the evolution of the Creative Class is supposed to take place among the representatives of the knowledge-based workers. In Florida’s own words, “the Creative Class numbers 300 million workers in the eighty-two nations for which data are available” (Florida 268).
Even though the idea of the Creative Class presuppose that it should include the intellectual elite and, therefore, cannot possibly outnumber the percentage of the traditional working force, it could be argued that the number of the members of the Creative Class can be increased, Florida claims.
The nature of the Creative Class, however, presupposes that the emphasis should be put on not only technology, tolerance, and talent but also on creating the environment in which the given elements can evolve. In other words, the existing educational system should not be overlooked (Corbett 2).
As the case of the United States shows, such factors as technology and talent can be boosted impressively by the increase of immigration rates. However, the idea of attracting foreign specialists to work within the state business setting is very flawed in that it makes the state dependable on other states serving as the source for the talent resources to be drawn from.
A logical solution to the given problem, an upgrade on the education system should be considered a legitimate strategy in shaping the Creative Class and, therefore, advancing the state economy. The given idea, however, has not been warranted by Florida – perhaps, because it did not start with the right letter. Jokes aside, though, technology, talent, and tolerance do not come out of nowhere – they need to be introduced to citizens as early as possible so that these concepts should be firmly integrated into their vision of the world.
Recent researches say that the principle of the 3 Ts can be used to evaluate education excellence: “Education is like a seed which if sowed in the wrong ground risks producing bad fruit or worse, to die” (Sedini 3); however, little to no research papers are devoted to the means of improving education system so that the principles of 3 Ts could be cultivated in the target states, which calls for a major reconsideration of the current principles.
The introduction of lifelong learning might seem a solution for the time being since it teaches students to acquire the necessary information on their own and simultaneously provides enough time for the state education system to be changed accordingly.
Recommendations: Improving the Theory of Three Ts
To give credit where it belongs to, Florida’s concept of three Ts is outstanding in its novelty; it allows a new type of classification of state economic performance that encompasses not only the financial aspects of the latter but also the thought that went into numerous business projects, the values that dominate within the realm of the state business field, the mind power behind the major business projects, etc.
Florida’s theory is a good overall basis for developing new evaluation rubrics, which will help define the states’ performance within the XXI century globalized environment. Admittedly, Florida’s concept has flaws, the key one being the lack of focus on the political constituent of the ix.
However, the given disadvantage can be considered as another option for states with different political systems to adjust the given theory to their unique environment. A viable and interesting concept, the principle of defining a state’s readiness in terms of its working-class potential, the 3 Ts theory deserves further testing and worldwide use.
Works Cited
Berggren, Jonah. “’The Rock Star of the Recover’: Explaining Sweden’s Strong Economic Performance.” The Ambassadors REVIEW (Fall 2011), 35–39.
Corbett, Michael. “Improvisation as a Curricular Metaphor: Imagining Education for a Rural Creative Class.” Journal of Research in Rural Education 28.10 (2013), 1–11.
Dobbs, Richard and James Manyika 2013, Disruptive Technologies: Advances That Will Transform Life, Business, and the Global Economy. 2013. Web.
Florida, Richard 2003, Cities and Creative Class. Web.
Florida, Richard. “Global Reach.” The Rise of the Creative Class Revisited (10th Ed.). Ed. Richard Florida. New York, NY: Basic Books. 2010. Print. 266–290.
Hanson, Gordon H. “Immigration and Economic Growth.” Cato Journal 32.1 (2012), 25–34.
Mellander, Charlotta and Richard Florida 2006, The Creative Class or Human Capital? Web.
Sedini, Carla 2009, Evaluating Higher Education Excellence using the 3Ts: Creation and Attraction of Technology, Talent and Tolerance by Ontario Colleges and Universities. Web.