Insights from a thought leader

Tuesday, December 09, 2003

Angelos Angelou, a thought leader in our profession, started his economic development career by guiding the economy in Austin, TX. Last week, he was in Cleveland, and I had the opportunity to attend one of his presentations.

Here are some highlights from his talk.

1. In Austin, 92% of the job growth comes from expansions and entrepreneurial start-ups. Only 7% to 8% comes from relocations.

2. In its development plan, Austin aggressively recruited companies that fit their target market. Their recrutiment efforts relied on extensive "corporate intelligence", detailed planning, and effective execution.

3. Austin limited incentives to anchor projects. Only 13 of the 800 companies that relocated to Austin received "hard" incentives.

4. The most effective incentives are "soft" incentives. Examples of soft incentives include providing in-state tuition to a companies employees (before they qualify) and providing adjunct professorships to key technical people.

Here's an update on the Austin economy. Read more.

posted by Ed Morrison |

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