active domestic rivalry, like specialty electronics and services. Strong pressures leading to under investment, however, plague more mature industries. Individual motivation to work and expand skills
is also important to competitive advantage. Outstanding talent is a scarce resource in any nation. A nation's success largely depends on the types of education its talented people choose, where they choose to work, and their commitment and effort.
The goals a nation's institutions and values set for individuals and companies, and the prestige it attaches to certain industries, guide the flow of capital and human resources which, in turn, directly affects the competitive performance of certain industries. Nations tend to be competitive in activities that people admire or depend on— the activities from
which the nation's heroes emerge. In Switzerland, it is banking and pharmaceuticals. In Israel, the highest
callings have been agriculture and defense related fields. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish between