Includes bibliographical references (p. 503-517) and index.

Introduction: Meeting the New Economic Challenge Forging an American Dream for the Twenty-First Century -- From Effortless Growth to the Era of Stagflation -- The Search for a New Growth Strategy: The Policy and Politics of Prosperity -- Looking Abroad for Answers: Pearls of Wisdom from the Global Oyster, Japan the Samurai Surprise -- Looking Abroad for Answers: Rising Germany, the Specter of Britain, and the Clash of Capitalisms -- Congress Takes the Lead -- Reagan Responds: The President's Commission on Industrial Competitiveness -- Congress Acts on Trade and Competitiveness -- Building the Base for Future Prosperity: The Private Sector and the States -- President Bush Takes the Stage -- The 1992 Presidential Election: The Campaign for Competitiveness -- Competitiveness as National Policy: Turning Ideas into Action -- The Gingrich Revolution and the Comeback President -- The Competitiveness Strategy: Explaining the Past and Forging the Future? -- Competing for the Future -- Competing for the Future: Strengthening the American Innovation System -- Competing for the Future: Building a Better American Learning System -- Competing for the Future: Global Engagement in the Twenty-First Century -- America in the Next American Century.