Douglas J. Guth, Fresh Water -- Greater Cleveland's workforce is highly educated, with 17 percent of its workforce boasting a graduate or professional degree. That puts the metro 10th in national rankings of top-skilled diploma carrying cities, one spot ahead of Pittsburgh. In terms of broader economic growth, demographer and urban planner Richey Piiparinen believes Cleveland can take advantage of those big brains through creation of high-density areas of expertise. These clusters of capability can be formed around our internationally touted "eds and meds" sectors, says Piiparinen, head of The Center for Population Dynamics at Cleveland State University (CSU).
A recently released study he co-authored, called “A Newer Geography of Jobs: Where Workers with Advanced Degrees Are Concentrating the Fastest," explained how a Ph.D-carrying research doctor could start a biotech firm, creating direct jobs for college grads within the startup as well as a "downstream" effect of positive impact on the local service economy.