Anatomy of a deal: Dell in the Triad Friday, November 05, 2004 The North Carolina legislature approved a $242 million package for Dell and a facility that could lead to 2,000 jobs ($121,000 per job). Pretty steep price to pay. Read more. (It's not over: Now that state incentives are lined up, Dell will start milking additional incentives from local governments. Read more.) To give you some sense of the priorities, that level of incentive could provide remedial reading instruction to about 70,000 first graders in North Carolina. (My calculation is based on the cost of Reading Recovery, an early intervention program. School districts report the cost per student ranges from $2,300 to $3,500. Learn more.) In an economy that must run on brainpower, does it make sense for the legislature to provide Dell nearly one-quarter billion in incentives, or make investments in early education? The paybacks from early childhood education are becoming very clear. Learn more. The case for backing Dell to this extent is far less clear. North Carolina runs a sizable risk of angering other technology companies with an incentive package that is too big. Read more. Here is a good report from the University of California, Irvine that demonstrates that in Dell's location decisions, incentives are a third tier variable. Download the report. posted by Ed Morrison |		This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. links 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. So, spread the word...Share the knowledge. Tell a friend about EDPro Weblog. 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.

The Web EDPro Weblog