The Flight of the Creative Class: The New Global Competition for Talent

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

The most valued workers today are what the economist Richard Florida calls the Creative Class, skilled individuals ranging from money managers to makeup artists, software programmers to steadycam operators who are in constant demand around the world. Florida's bestselling The Rise of the Creative Class identified these workers as the source of economic revitalization in American cities. In that book, he shows that investment in technology and a civic culture of tolerance (mostoften marked by the presence of a large gay community) are the key ingredients to attracting and maintaining a local creative class. In The Flight of the Creative Class, Florida expands his research to cover the global competition to attract the Creative Class. The United States was, up until 2002, the unparalleled leader in creative capital. But several key eventsthe Bush administrations emphasis on smokestack industries, heightened security concerns after 9/11 and the growing cultural divide between conservatives and liberalshave put the US at a substantial disadvantage.

Reviews

"A compelling and seductive thesis." -- BusinessWeek "Policy makers and independent professionals alike must quickly take Florida's argument aboard--and, just as quickly, act." -- Tom Peters "Required reading for elected officials, policy makers, educators, business leaders and every citizen concerned about the future of this country." -- Alan M. Webber, Founding Editor, Fast Company magazine

Author Bio

Richard Florida is the author of the best-selling The Rise of the Creative Class: And How Its Transforming Work, Leisure Community and Everyday Life, which was awarded the Political Book Award for 2002 by the Washington Monthly and named by the Globe and Mail as one of the ten most influential books of that year in the United States.