BUILDING AN ECONOMY: AMELIORATING INCOME INEQUALITY

1

The City of Pittsburgh: a transformation of a WWII era hub for steel and manufacturing to a

global innovation city

William Generett, Jr., J.D. -Vice President of Community Engagement, Duquesne University

THE PITTSBURGH EXAMPLE: AN ECONOMY DRIVEN BY “INCLUSIVE INNOVATION”

• Presentation will discuss:• New technology role in transforming region’s economy

• Example: International leader in AI platforms, such as autonomous vehicles

• Issues of equity in new economy

• Efforts to connect new economy with local communities

• Challenges and unintended consequences presented by new economy

2

BRIEF HISTORY: PITTSBURGH, THE “STEEL CITY”

• Industrial heyday in post World War II America

• Behind only New York City and Chicago in corporate headquarters employment

• By the 1940’s, due to pollution, Pittsburgh was dark all hours

• Peak population of 677,000 in 1950

3

COLLAPSE OF THE MANUFACTURING ECONOMY

• By 1980, 75% of Pittsburgh’s steelmaking capacity vanished

• 130,000 jobs lost, unemployment at 18%

• Population dropped to a low of 296,324 in 2007

• Air pollution was drastically reduced

4

A NEW ECONOMY: ADVANCED INDUSTRY CLUSTERS

• Manufacturing, technology and health care• 1,600 technology firms generating $20.7 billion in annual Pittsburgh payroll

• 2 global leaders in their respective industries: Google, Uber

• 115,000 employees in health care

• Metropolitan area home to 68 colleges and universities

5

A NEW ECONOMY: POST RECESSION SUCCESS

• Advanced industries have grown 8.4% since end of recession

• Double the growth rate of private-sector

• 103,000 jobs in automation and industrial machinery/metals/metal processing

• Post recession job growth in advanced manufacturing reached 11.3%

• Productivity 7% higher in manufacturing industries than national average

6

A NEW ECONOMY: ACADEMIC & RESEARCH STRENGTH

• Metro university R&D ranks 5th among top cities

• Academic research expenditures in medical sciences is 350% higher than national average

• CMU’s computer science & computer engineering programs rank 1st and 2nd respectively nataionally

7

A NEW ECONOMY: THE STARTUP ECOSYSTEM

• 2014 – 2016: 10 times number of Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) recipients

• 2016: UPMC Enterprise invested over $130 million in new tech and startups

• Pittsburgh region ranked 5th in number of deals per capita

8

NEW ECONOMY FAILURE: RACIAL DISPARITIES - A TALE OF TWO CITIES

• 33% of African Americans in Pittsburgh live in poverty

• 15% of White, non-Hispanics in Pittsburgh live in poverty

• Median household income disparities based on race:

9

PITTSBURGH’S SHARED INCLUSIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GOALS

10

FOSTERING A COOPERATIVE ENVIRONMENT: ECOSYSTEM SUCCESS

• Make the case

• All sectors must be engaged

• Form a public private partnership to govern the work

11

12

CONNECTING THE NEW ECONOMY TO THE COMMUNITY

LESSONS LEARNED IN PITTSBURGH

• What Pittsburgh learned in attempting to build a Mondragon inspired co-operative ecosystem:• Do not build co-operatives in silos

• Build co-operatives from the “bottom up”, not the “top down”

• Choose the right type of co-operative business

• Co-operatives are a very important tool to fight income equality

13

THANK YOU!

14