Looking at this without looking at the quantity and quality of available talent is the most absurd thing I've ever seen. It's easily the most important thing to measure, it's easily what would push the US near the top, but it's hard to measure, so..hey, let's just leave it out.
What has saved the US so far is really a combination of a few things:
The first is available talent but the advantage is not as great as you might think there.
The second is the way our ivy league schools have functioned as networking hubs for folks starting businesses. But that then just is helpful if you already have money.
The third has been the investor climate and the US financial strength. This is the factor that has traditionally tipped things heavily in the favor of the US.
The problem with this assessment though is that it shows that if you are in the capital class in the US, you have a relatively easy time but if you are not, then you are more or less shut out. The only way to get a decent-sized business started for such people is to do it overseas.
