The ultimate beneficiaries of this transformation are the people who live and work in the area. Boston area workers' earnings now exceed the national average by more than 27 percent. The region's economic strength is built on its underlying brainpower, not on any particular product, industry or company. In the world of intellectual capital, sustained prosperity requires a sustained flow of innovation, ideas and talent. The Role of Higher Education he Boston area's 65 colleges and universities have played a central role in the continuing transformation of its economy.
Higher education is in itself a significant regional industry.
Private colleges and universities in the five metropolitan-area counties employ more than 94,000 people. It thus provides an element of stability in a region that is all too familiar with the cost of economic downturns. Important as it is as an industry in itself, higher education is even more important for its linkages to other sectors of the Boston area's economy. Moreover, the Boston area's cluster of universities is an asset that other regions would find it difficult, if not impossible, to replicate. It thus represents a source of sustainable competitive advantage for the region.