By: Mark Muro, Brookings Institution.

Abstract: Several defining characteristics will shape the post‐Great Recession economy:The “next” economy will be export‐oriented, lower‐carbon, and innovation‐fueled The next economy will also be metropolitan‐led:Which means regions belong at the center of national innovation and entrepreneurship policy. There is no single American economy, but a network of 366 metropolitan economies that compete with other economic regions around the world.