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Hub tops Chamber's 'Talent Index' but can we stay there
On the heels of Ed Glaeser's article that high prices and the lack of housing supply are big reasons why homeownership rates are down among young people comes a Boston Chamber of Commerce report that the Hub ranks number one in college graduate talent and resulting innovation.
The chamber has created a new Global Talent Index which compares the 15 largest U.S. Metro areas and 15 major international capitals in three areas - university academic performance, college degrees and patents. Boston's strong performance in each of the three metrics generated its overall first-place ranking. Other cities in the top five were London, Beiijing, San Francisco and Paris.
The chamber stresses that talent is not a given, that it is attracted to regions that welcome and help talent flourish (meaning jobs). The chamber makes several recommendations on how Boston can maintain its lofty ranking, including keeping more college graduates in the region by expanding internships and immigration reforms that will make more visas avaiable for foreign-born students. The chamber reports:
While the region retains half of its students upon graduation, half leave for other regions,with studies showing that the primary driver of these departures is job availability.
The chamber's report focuses on making academic and post-academic conditions more favorable for college graduates. But it's not a stretch to brinig in Glaeser's concerns that the state's strict zoning rules are squelching production and not allowing us to build the housing we need to keep talent. To maintain and grow Boston's talent pool, housing must also be a priority.