Brookings Institution Wants To Fight "Brain Drain"

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(UNDATED) - The Brookings Institution think tank is urging the 12 Great Lakes states to band together as a single economic powerhouse.

Brookings Institution Fellow and Michigan Board of Education Vice-President John Austin says the rust belt states share similar handicaps stemming from their manufacturing heritage, including job losses, an undereducated population, and segregation. But the states also share advantages, holding a significant percentage of the U.S.'s power-generating capacity and the world's fresh water.

Universities in the great lakes states have awarded 38% of the country's bachelor's degrees, and 37% of its advanced science and engineering degrees.

According to a ranking by Shanghai's prestigious Jiao Tong University, the region is home to 19 of the top 90 research universities in the world, led by the University of Chicago at #9, and including Purdue (#75) and IU (#87).

Austin argues the states should maximize that advantage and reduce brain drain by allowing in-state tuition at universities throughout the region. He recommends unifying the states' professional standards and credentialing requirements for the graduates who emerge.

Austin says the states could work together on a host of other initiatives, from a regionwide health-care plan to an effort to revitalize the lakes themselves. He says those thousands of miles of shoreline should make the region attractive the same way the ocean helps draw people to California.

State officials joined area business and civic leaders for a presentation on Austin's proposed regional compact, but did not take a position on the recommendations one way or the other.

The plan did earn praise from Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson and Farmington Hills, Mich., Mayor Vicki Barnett, who says the states need to begin working toward success together rather than "cannibalizing" each other's jobs.

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