What is the smart economy ?

To enterprise, trade & employment minister Mary Coughlan, it's whatever you're having yourself.

A reading of her recent speech at the MacGill summer school would indicate that the smart economy is a remarkably flexible instrument, capable of being whatever the minister wants it to be. It has all the attributes she likes - competitiveness, low costs, high skills; it is pervasively innovative; and it kind of reminds her of Stanford University: "The University has spawned some 3,000 companies in high technology and other fields, resulting in the creation of tens of thousands of jobs. It is that type of innovation led environment that our drive for a smart economy must emulate in Ireland. There is no good reason why we cannot."

I can think of $17.2 billion worth of reasons why we cannot. That's the size of Stanford's endowment. Comparisons with Ireland's underfunded and overstretched universities are entirely meaningless. But it never prevents policy makers - or ministers - from making them.

Margaret Pugh O'Mara's 'Cities of Knowledge' is a great place to learn more about the specific set of historical factors underpinning Stanford's success - and to learn why Ireland really ought to find more appropriate role models.