Friday, February 27, 2004
Not much evidence supports the fact that enterprise zones work. That does not prevent political leaders from relying on them to "direct" economic development.
In Maine, Gov. John Baldacci is identifying four additional Pine Tree Zones, which the state is targeting for tax incentives to spur economic development.
The Pine Tree Zones are designed to draw businesses to economically distressed areas of the state to create jobs and help Maine to compete against other states for business expansions. Maine now has eight zones.
Baldacci proposed the Pine Tree Zone program early last year. It offers incentives such as business equipment tax reimbursements, reimbursement of payroll taxes, refunds of corporate and insurance premium taxes and sales tax exemptions on construction materials.
Eligible businesses include firms engaged in manufacturing and financial services, and in the seven state-targeted technology sectors: biotechnology, aquaculture and marine technology, composite materials technology, environmental technology, advanced technologies for forestry and agriculture, information technology and precision manufacturing technology.
Some Background on EDPro Weblog
The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it.
One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information.
If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site:
Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber:
Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development
As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking.
Background on Ed Morrison
Download some background information on me here.
Maine's Pine Tree Zones
