| |
|
Economy Watch
Sunday, November 28, 2004 Here are the best articles I came across last week. Not much here, due to the holiday. Fears over recovery as Wal-Mart sales stall Vital Signs for the Week of Nov. 29 Global forex volatility underscores China's growing economic muscle Raft of data offer mixed reading on U.S. economy posted by Ed | Stealing bases (military, that is) Saturday, November 27, 2004 Here's a good article from Los Angeles on what states are doing to protect their military bases during the latest round of military base closures. Read more. posted by Ed | Shifting direction in economic development In the past, most communities followed the traditional path in economic development. This approach focuses on marketing industrial land and buildings to outside investors. In recent years, more and more communities are moving toward a newer model of economic development based on supporting knowledge intensive businesses. These are businesses that thrive on brainpower and creativity. This new approach to economic development represents a marked departure from older thinking. In traditional economic development, civic leaders focused extensively on commercial and industrial real estate. Strategic planning consisted of identifying the major investments within a community that could be jointly supported by the public and private sectors. These investments typically included infrastructure, land acquisition, and building construction. Building prosperity in a knowledge economy requires us to think of economic development in a different way. Commercial and industrial real estate continues to play an important part in the economic development equation. Yet, real estate development, standing alone, does not capture the full range of investments that a community or region must make to be competitive. In a knowledge-based economy, collaboration and social networks play the central role in building prosperity. The Internet has become the metaphor for how this knowledge economy works. In traditional economic development, we saw a regional economy as a collection of physical assets or "things". In a knowledge economy, we see a regional economy as a set of networks embedded in other networks. Evidence of this shift is happening across the country. And it's not simply limited to large metro areas. Here's an example of one rural community that is making this shift in the middle of Virginia's coalfields. Read more. posted by Ed | Dancing with Dell: an update Counties in the Triad are putting on their party best for Dell. The issue now: How can we provide free land? Here's the latest. Read more. posted by Ed | Getting students involved Engaging students directly in economic development is one way to make a place "sticky". Here are two stories, one from New York, one from Pennsylvania, that explore a new dimension of economic development. posted by Ed | The skills gap will continue to grow Friday, November 26, 2004 In many regional economies we face a paradox. People complain that they can't find jobs, and employers complain that they cannot find workers. The reason: a skills gap. For a number of years, we have been producing too many young adults with weak skills and no career plans. About half of the young people who enter high school enter adulthood with skills that do not qualify them for jobs over $10 or $12 per hour. At the same time, older workers are losing good jobs, but their skills are so weak that they cannot qualify for new jobs at a similar pay. So, for example, manufacturing workers lose jobs at $15 per hour, but they do not have the skills to qualify for the new jobs coming on line. So, we have shortages of many occupations that require some post secondary education: pharmacists, nurses, teachers, medical techs, flight traffic controllers, skilled trades, even long haul truckers. Here's an article that explores the skills gap. Read more. Get used to it. The gap will grow as the Baby Boom generation reaches retirement. posted by Ed | Resource: Beacon Hill Institute report on metros and states The Beacon Hill Institute has issued its Metro Area and State Competitiveness Report 2004. You can download is here. This year, the Institute has also developed an online forum to promote discussion on the study. posted by Ed | The emerging world of muni wireless Add Dayton to the list of cities that are considering a wireless network. Read more. At the same time, Philadelphia's city administration, which announced similar ambitions a few months ago, might be derailed by new legislation at the state level. The bill, which is on its way to the governor for his signature, would prohibit a government or any entity it creates from offering broadband for a fee. Read more. Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to fall behind in broadband deployment. Read more. You can download the report, A Nation Online: Entering the Broadband Age. posted by Ed | NASCAR track blows an engine The NASCAR project in Snohomish County, Washington has stalled. Read more. Critics suggest that it doesn't make much sense for the taxpayers to pick up $200 million of the $250 million track. The 75,000 seats would be filled only a few times a year. (That's worse than NFL stadiums which are used only 8 or 9 times a year.) Read more. posted by Ed | Web sites and economic development South Dakota has launched a new web site to market arts and crafts made in the state. Read more and visit the site. I'm not sure how much it cost, but it was probably a good deal less than the $685,000 that some bonehead bureaucrats paid for a web site in Wisconsin. Amazingly, the arrangement was a no-bid contract. Read more. It sure is a swell web site, though. Read more. While on the subject of web sites, you might be interested in this article out of Texas. Mark James, a colleague of mine on the faculty of the Economic Development Institute, explains some of the key components of an effective economic development web site. Read more. The theme is picked up in this article from Toledo: Here's an article from the latest issue of Governing magazine. It explores how GIS has become an integral component to economic development web sites. Read more. posted by Ed | Shifting the recruiting game from companies to people In the years ahead, we'll start seeing more stories like this one. Economic development recruiters will be shifting their focus from recruiting companies to recruiting people. The reason: companies can come and go, but people -- especially people who grew up in your economy and later left -- can provide an important base from which to build for the future. Here's the case of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development that hosted a Nebraska Alumni Celebration in Denver. The goal: bring native Nebraskans back to the state. Read more. (Here's some background on what is going on in Nebraska.) Philadelphia has got a variant on the strategy. The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce has launched a new Web site, http://www.GreaterPhillyLife.com. The site The purpose is designed to buid connections with young professionals who wish to remain in, or relocate to, the Greater Philadelphia region. Read more. posted by Ed | Too eager to hand out incentives Often, states move too quickly with incentives. Take the cases of Georgia nad Texas. In the case of Georgia, the state moved ahead quickly with a $60 million investment in site acquisition and preparation for a Chrysler truck plant that may never get built. Read more. And in Texas, the governor appears to have played fast and loose with the Texas Enterprise Fund. According to a recent newspaper analysis, the State paid out millions of dollars without securing firm commitments from companies receiving the cash. Read more. posted by Ed | Insights on inner city economies According to a new report from the Institute for a Competitive Inner City, 77% of inner city jobs are held by people who do not live in the inner city. This finding dispels the notion that inner city economies are destitute. According to the report, the average annual salary for jobs located in inner cities is $38,000, about the same as an average of $39,000 for the surrounding metropolitan areas. Read more posted by Ed | Michigan: Trying to get everone on the same page Wednesday, November 24, 2004 In 2002, Michigan embarked on what appears to be a good strategy for its endangered tool and die companies: encourage collaboration and provide incentives to do it. Unfortunately, local governments are now balking at playing along. They are unwilling to extend tax abatements that the state has made a condition for its incentives. Read more. posted by Ed | Changes in Louisiana: Whither clusters? There are more changes underway in Louisiana. Nobody's quite sure how it will all end up, though. Read more. Louisiana seems to be moving away from a strategic focus on clusters, even as Texas is moving toward this approach. Read more. (When he first got the job to head Louisiana's economic development program, Mike Olivier gave an interview and outlined his attitude toward clusters: The department's vaunted, sometimes-criticized "cluster" approach, in which specific industries are targeted, may undergo some revisions, Olivier indicated. "I'm not using the word "cluster," he said. "I want to get away from that," Olivier said, suggesting that he would substitute the word "targeting," but adding: "there is no difference.") Mike's not really right about that, but it does indicate that Louisiana's cluster approach is probably headed for the trash can.. posted by Ed | Congress sponsors outsourcing study Congress has agreed to fund a major study into the impacts of outsourcing. The National Academy of Public Administration, an independent, nonpartisan organization, will complete the report. Read more. posted by Ed | Connecting Colorado State and Fort Collins Monday, November 22, 2004 The headline caught my eye: City, CSU seeing need to partner. The article goes on to explain how Fort Collins and Colorado State University want to develop a closer relationship to accelerate technology transfer. The really interesting dimension of this story, though, is the role that a citizen's group has played in defining the City's strategy. The Economic Vitality and Sustainability Action Group issued a report recently that outlines recommended economic development activities for Fort Collins. The report represents a good example of an understandable strategy. You can download a copy from this page. posted by Ed | The tax debate in Kentucky Every so often, a research report touches off a significant public policy debate. That's what happened in Kentucky with the so-called Coomes report. Drafted by University of Louisville economist Paul Coomes, the report makes the case that Kentucky's tax system is out of date with current competitive realities. That finding, standing alone, is not surprising. Many state tax systems are in deep need of reform. The Coomes report, however, goes on to raise significant questions about the geographic distributions of burdens and benefits through the tax code. Specifically, the report notes that urban areas in the state tend to contribute far more in revenue than what they get back. In the case of Louisville, for example, the city gets 59 cents back on every dollar of state taxes it sends to Frankfort. Tax policy always involves resolving the tension between efficiency and equtiy. Finding the right balance point -- one that promotes economic growth but also promotes fairness -- involves tough tradeoffs. Unfortunately, state tax reform rarely moves forward with a stable policy framework. Instead, state (and federal) tax laws represent the accumulation of hundreds of small decisions, driven (too often in my view) by narrow political considerations. That's how we get tax laws that are complex, inequitable, and inefficient. Read more about the debate going on in Kentucky. A map for Kentucky The imperative for reform Tax study likely to be a tough sell Changes Needed to Make Kentucky More Competitive Northern Kentucky's fair share Download the Coomes report posted by Ed | Smart growth in Montana Since 1998, smart growth advocates in Montana have been holding the Big Sky or Big Sprawl Conference. They held their latest meeting last week, and speakers made the connection between smart growth and economic development. Read more. You can learn more about the Montana Smart Growth Coalition from their web site. Ben Alexander represented the Sonoran Institute, based in Bozeman. On the Institute web site, you can find some interesting presentations on rural development. Go. posted by Ed | Tracing the ED funds flows in New Orleans A good report out of New Orleans may make some changes possible in how economic development funds are invested. The report outlines the sources and uses of $1.1 billion in economic development funds over the past five years. The report finds that, unfortunately, these investments took place without clear planning or accountability. Read more. You can download the report from this page. The report does a good job in clarifying the economic development funds flows in the city. Its methodology provides a model for tracing these flows. posted by Ed | Economy Watch Saturday, November 20, 2004 Here's the latest on the economy. U.S. is urged to cut deficit Greenspan says US deficits could burden economy Vital Signs for the Week of Nov. 22 Inflation surge: Is it here to stay? The heartland votes for its economic interest Joseph Stiglitz and Pete Peterson: What's Wrong With the U.S. Economy and How to Fix It New Reports Show IT Reflects, Not Leads, Economy The Freelance Economy posted by Ed | Did NC pay too much for Dell? Friday, November 19, 2004 Although they are quick not to criticize their colleagues to the south, EDPros in Virginia can't figure how North Carolina justified paying a quarter of a billion for Dell. Read more. That may not be all. Local governments are turning to local corporations to add to the Dell incentive package. Read more. In an earlier post, I outlined how NC would be better off in the long term (20 years) if they invested these incentives in early childhood development. For background, see this article from the Federal Reserve Board in Minneapolis. posted by Ed | Thinking outside the big box Thursday, November 18, 2004 Across the country, Wal-Mart's move to Super Centers has left about 150 older Wal-Mart stores empty. Filling these stores is a problem that requires some ingenuity. Read more. The most common response: Subdivide. posted by Ed | What we are up against Here's a good summary of what Korea is doing to build new industrial clusters. Read more. The article illustrates the aggressive ambitions of countries to compete on a global scale in the next generation of knowledge-based businesses. posted by Ed | Studying the Cambridge Phenomenon Arizona and Connecticut are closely examining the development of technology-based businesses around the University of Cambridge in the U.K. Read more. Silicon Fen (as some journalists call the region) or the Cambridge Phenomenon (as an early report labeled the region) has grown with quite a different dynamic from Silicon Valley. While Silicon Valley has its roots in the 1930's, the Cambridge Phenomenon did not begin to appear until the 1960's. Unlike early firms in California, the early firms around Cambridge did not have driving commercial ambitions. The point is that each region is different. Innovation is a process of recombination. The process relies deeply on local factors that cannot be replicated. At the same time, at the level of the system, innovation thrives in economies that embrace open networks, close ties to post secondary institutions (both research universities and other colleges), and selective anchor investments (public goods that cannot be easily produced by markets alone). posted by Ed | Pennsylvania launches new innovation zones Pennsylvania has launched its latest series of innovation zones. Keystone Innovation Zones are state-designated areas where schools, entrepreneurs, lenders, economic development groups and foundations work together to create new, innovative companies with the aid of state tax credits and grants. Learn more about the five new zones. Go. posted by Ed | The coming shifts in global textiles and apparel trade The Washington Post recently ran a good series of articles on the shifting trends in the global textile trade. On January 1, the world trade rules on the global textile trade will undergo the most significant revision in thirty years. New pattern is cut for global textile trade provides a good overview of the issue. Apparel Apocalypse? argues that global trade patterns are determined as much by supply chain dynamics as by wage rates. Ready to Take On All Competitors and Markets focuses on how China is prepared to dominate the textile and apparel trade. Banking on Openness and Proximity to U.S. explores how the textile and apparel industry in Honduras is hoping to survive in this new world order. Pinning Hope On Fair Labor Standards explores the situation of producers in Cambodia. This interactive web graphic provides a fascinating overview of the global trade dynamics. posted by Ed | Harnessing the power of immigrant entrepreneurs Immigration policy is going to become an increasingly contentious issue. Often, public policy gets confused. We are not clear about the economic value that some entrepreneurs can generate. Immigrant entrepreneurs are a vital force in many regional economies. (For example, here's a good article from AnnaLee Saxenian some years ago on the role of immigrant entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley.) How do you harness immigrant entrepreneurs? Here's an approach from Dallas. The East Dallas office of the Asian American Chamber of Commerce has become a hub for immigrant entrepreneurs. Read more. posted by Ed | Resource: Milken report on best performing cities The Milken Institute has released its latest report on the best performing cities. You can download the report from this page. posted by Ed | Duke Power lowers rates in SC Wednesday, November 17, 2004 Some weeks ago, Duke Power announced that it would lower rates in South Carolina as a strategy to boost manufacturing in the state. Earlier this week, Duke announced that it would invest up to $40 million in the next four years on economic development to slow the loss of manufacturing jobs. Read more. posted by Ed | More evidence of Louisiana moving in the right direction Governor Blanco in Louisiana continues to push her state ahead in economic development. She's established a commission to develop a strategy to accelerate broadband deployment. The commission chair, David Young, is an innovative and thoughtful economic development professional. I've worked with David in Ascension Parish. The governor will get a good plan. Read more. posted by Ed | AdvantageWest opens food processing center Tuesday, November 16, 2004 AdvantageWest, the innovative economic development organization in western North Carolina, has established a food processing center on the campus of a local community college. The center operates as a separate limited liability company (LLC). Read more. Learn more about AdvantageWest. Go. In the years ahead, more regions will be moving toward developing regional food systems. This strategy has two major economic development impacts. By developing strong regional brands and capturing the value added from food processing, regional food strategies will boost local incomes. The extent that these strategies displace food imports to a region, they also reduce the leakage of income from a region. posted by Ed | Resource: Angel capital report If you are curious about the angel capital market, cruise through this report from New Zealand. It does a good job of segmenting the market of angel investors. Read more. Download the report from this page. posted by Ed | Innovative Texas deal breaks ground The most significant economic development deal last year was not the Boeing 7E7 project. It was the unique partnership among Texas Instruments, the University of Texas, and the State of Texas. The innovative partnership triggered the decision by TI to build its latest semiconductor facility in Texas. In exchange, the Texas partners agreed to invest more than $300 million in the School of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Texas at Dallas. Earlier this week, the parties launched the project. Read more. posted by Ed | Providence incubators Here's a good article on how two incubators are gaining traction in Providence, RI. Read more. posted by Ed | Georgia aims for Toyota's 7th plant Monday, November 15, 2004 The ink on the Dell deal is barely dry, and now more buzz is starting about Toyota's new plant. The company announced two weeks ago that it would build a 7th plant in the U.S. Arkansas is moving forward with its bid, but so is Georgia. Read more. posted by Ed | Building a region around Philadelphia Greater Philadelphia is taking steps to pull itself together as a region. But the folks in Wilmington, DE are not so sure they are part of it. Nevertheless, a series of business breakfasts and further consultation throughout the region is gradually shifting the mirrors. In December, the governors of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware are scheduled to participate in a "State of the Region" meeting. Read more. Read another article on their efforts. Go. posted by Ed | Slowing Iowa's brain drain Here's a good analysis of the brain drain in Iowa. In particular, the article outlines the downward spiral that comes from a short-sighted economic development strategy focused only on jobs: "Upmarket companies choose not to move to a state because of a shortage of "skilled" (usually college-educated) employees. Desperate for jobs, the state turns its attention to lower-wage employers. Wages decline, further driving away college graduates. The population stops growing and the economy slows down. "The state begins to have budget shortfalls. Spending on higher education drops, as taxpayers balk at educating workers who will soon move to another state. Finally, the state gets a reputation as a low-wage, unskilled state." Read more. posted by Ed | New strategy for Northeast Wisconsin A new strategy for Northeast Wisconsin may ignite new collaborations to transform the regional economy. The report provides an extensive list of action steps under five major strategies. The authors, NorthStar Economics Inc. of Madison, rank high in my book among economic development consulting firms. Cruise through the action steps in this report, and you'll likely find some ideas you can use. Read more about the report. You can download the report from this page. posted by Ed | Economy Watch Saturday, November 13, 2004 Here are the best articles I came across last week. Retail sales up 0.2 percent in October Vital Signs for the Week of Nov. 15 Polarizing Politics US consumer confidence fell in Nov 7 week-report France seeks Britain's help to transform Europe's economy posted by Ed | Pushing broadband in rural Pennsylvania Proposed telecommunications legislation in Pennsylvania hopes to accelerate the deployment of high speed Internet into rural counties. The bill would authorize enough money to provide broadband connections to every school in the state. There's some chance that the legislation will pass before the legislature adjourns on November 30. Learn more. posted by Ed | West Virginia's move toward an innovation economy West Virginia needs to move toward an innovation-led strategy for growth. That's the conclusion of a consulting study released yesterday. Written by MIT professor Richard Lester, the report outlines how West Virginia needs to place a few strategic bets to accelerate innovation in the state. Read more. Download the report. posted by Ed | Dartmouth launches an incubator The Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network is launching an incubator. The new facility will be a 48,000 square-foot, $4.5 million high-tech incubator, located near the campus. This initiative is part of a broader strategy to establish a statewide business incubator network. Read more. posted by Ed | Roanoke's self-exam Looks like Roanoke's approach to regional economic development went through some careful critique at yesterday's economic summit. The main message appears to be that the region needs to embrace an even more aggressive set of regional initiatives, if it is going to move the needle on growth. Read more. posted by Ed | Consultants to Dallas: Pay attention Sometimes, McKinsey will provide its services for free to public sector clients. (It's a good way to deploy underutilized consultants for business development.) Yesterday, the City of Dallas received a report from McKinsey. The report outlines some sweeeping changes in code enforcement and economic development. Read more. posted by Ed | The lessons from boatbuilding In Bristol, RI, EDPro Alan Crisman is facing a challenge that is taking place in regional economies across the country: Not enough skilled workers. Although boat builing is expanding, firms report having trouble recruiting enough workers. Read more. The problem is rooted in the imbalances of our educational system. We are simply producing too many underskilled young people. Too many drop-outs. Too many high school graduates with weak skills and no career plan. That's why we have shortages reported in a wide ange of professions that require skills beyond high schhol. We have shortages of nurses, teachers, long haul truck drivers, pharmacists, air traffic controllers, machinists. The list goes on. These challenges will only get bigger in the years ahead. We face a major demographic shift as the Baby Boom generation retires. In Rhoode Island, Alan Crisman is thinking about this challenge in the right way. Design more flexibility into high school. Create career pathways that can feed directly into the needs of the business firms. Focus on industry certifications for these career pathways. posted by Ed | Getting lean through alliances in Western Michigan The West Michigan Strategic Alliance is a five year old organization that includes the communities of Grand Rapids, Holland and Muskegon. In its year-end report, the Alliance highlighted its progress, but Alliance leaders underscored the importance of accelerating collaboration. Read more. Fiscal dynamics are driving the equation. Compared to Southern states, Northern states tend to have a higher "public overhead". Generally, there are more public employees per capita in the North than in the South. A higher portion of income goes to supporting this overhead. We recently completed an analysis of this issue for Cleveland (Cuyahoga County). If you are interested, you can read more about it from this web site. posted by Ed | Connecticut moves to improve technology transfer Connecticut has released a nee report on technology transfer. One of the authors, Lou Tournatsky, is an old colleague of mine. In the early 1980's, while I was working as staff counsel a committee in the U.S. Senate, Lou was working at the National Science Foundation. We worked together on a proposal to establish a National Innovation Foundation, similar in structure to the NSF, but focused on accelerating innovation. Needless to say, the initiative never went anywhere, but I learned a lot from Lou about innovation policy. The Connecticut study looks ways to improve the itechnology transfer policies in the state. The governor is moving quickly. He wants legislative recommendations on his desk by December 15. Read more. Download the report. posted by Ed | Tapping diverse perspectives in Upstate New York Older industrial regions tend to have a problem of driving into the future by looking in the rearview mirror. Often the leadership's thinking patterns -- its shared mental models -- are not open to new possibilities. Civic leadership suffers from a peculiar group think. In Upstate New York, the leadership has launched a strategy to surface more diverse perspectives about the possibilities. A summit for under 40 professionals sold out yesterday with over 550 people registered yesterday. Read more. Visit the web site. Go. posted by Ed | Biotech in the Triad Dell is not the only thing happening in the Triad of North Carolina. The chambers of commerce in the Triad are launching an assessment of the region's biotech industry. They're tyring to figure out how to leverage the strength of this emerging sector. Read more. posted by Ed | The value of Dell When it comes to incentives, Dell is Master of the Universe. States and localities are willing to pay a lot to get the brand name. Here are two articles: With Dell plant official, N.C. communities vie for prize Dell's footprint. In the recruitment game, unquestionably Dell commands attention. But here is the irony: Dell is competing in a mature business, and recruitment strategies no longer drive economic development. Innovation strategies do. So, if you are sitting with a limited state budget, where would you place your invesments for the long haul? Unfortunately, political dynamics rarely present the trade-off in clear terms. posted by Ed | Ohio tax decision casts a long shadow Friday, November 12, 2004 A recent Ohio appellate court decision struck down some tax incentives to companies as unconstitutional. Now experts are speculating that the impact of the decision could affect policy in as many as forty states. As one observer notes, "It's a potentially very complicated mess." Ohio's Senator Voinovich has stepped in to try to clarify the situation with proposed legislation. Read more. (Free registration required.) posted by Ed | Web Watch: Idaho commercial sites Six months after launch, an Idaho online database of available commerical properties has proved more popular than expected. Read more. Visit the site. posted by Ed | Consultant: Not enough good jobs in Kansas A new report on Kansas argues that the state does not do a good job in translating its brainpower into wealth. Despite having an education system that performs at a relatively high level, the state lags in innovation. Read more. posted by Ed | Anatomy of a deal: Dell needs to pick a county Dell has announced that it wil locate in the Triad region of North Carolina. Now the competition is on to determine which lcounty in the Triad wil land the plant. Dell wants to announce a decision in the next month. Read more. posted by Ed | Wal-Mart will hit NJ grocers A Rutgers study argues that Wal-Mart and other big box superstores will likely have an adverse impact on New Jersey's grocery stores. "Increasing sales of food products by 'big box' stores, as well as other factors, could undermine the role of the retail food industry and have adverse consequences for retail trade," Read more. posted by Ed | Web Watch: TVA's new economic development site Tuesday, November 09, 2004 TVA has launched a revision of its economic development web site. You can read about the enhancements here, or you can visit the site. The TVA economic development site operates with a companion web site (also recently redesigned) that provides a database of available properties. Visit TVASites.com posted by Ed | Georgia's new economic development partnership Monday, November 08, 2004 Georgia's governor has announced a new economic partnership that draws together a broad array of resources within the state. At the core stands Georgia Tech's effort to establish a strong research university tied to global business networks. Read more posted by Ed | The future of manufacturing Here are three articles on the future of manufacturing in the U.S. The first details how several manufacturers are doing in upstate New York. Read more. The second covers a speech by Georgia's Technical and Adult Education Commissioner. Read more. Both come to the same conclusion. Manufacturing is far from "dead". As one observer from New York notes: ""There was a rumor running around Oswego County a few year ago that manufacturing was dead. That’s not the case. We have seen a vast resurgence in the manufacturing activity." And the Georgia Commissioner says flatly: "People tell me that manufacturing is dead — they're dead wrong." The third article covers the establishment of a logistics council in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. The council will provide powerful tools to small and mid-sized manufacturers to help them manage their supply chains. Read more. As one participant in the council notes: "With globalization, we see a rise in the importance of supply-chain management and services. We still have the opportunity to grow good-paying manufacturing jobs in the United States, especially where you have a high-value product or a bulky good where you don't want to ship a lot of air." posted by Ed | Heading for Germany Germany is a popular destination. Delegations from Iowa and MIchigan are heading there this week. posted by Ed | Anatomy of a deal: Dell announcement due tomorrow By the time you read this, Dell will have announced its intention to locate in the Triad. Read more abou t the details of the deal. posted by Ed | Economy Watch Saturday, November 06, 2004 Here's the latest articles onthe economy. 337,000 new jobs created in October Vital Signs for the Week of Nov. 8 Economists anticipate 'topping out' in 2005 activity Western U.S. losing job-growth momentum Five key economic challenges for Bush Manufacturing Edges Up in October posted by Ed | Web Watch: Long Beach business networking The Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce launched its new Tech Point Technology web site and member database. We'll be seeing more of these Internet-based business networking solutions in economic development. This service is targeted to the local business community. It provides a single source of information for all local area technology services from Long Beach Chamber of Commerce technology providers. If actively managed, it will provide another value-added service to build the chamber's membership. Visit the site. posted by Ed | New skills training center in Arizona A new workforce initiative in Arizona is off on the right track. It will be offering skill assessments to workers. These assessments are a critical component to an effective workforce system. Indeed, the center is called a skills training and business development center. As one of the professionals notes: "Skills assessment is seen as a crucial part of workforce development and one of the keys to attracting and retaining industry in an area. It's good for the productivity and efficiency of a company and, eventually, job creation." Read more. Skill assessments matter, because of the language and performance gaps between schools and workplaces. Employers and educators have a difficult time communicating. And the standard certifications offered by schools -- particularly a high school diploma -- no longer mean much in the workplace. As many of you know, a hefty percentage of today's high school graduates are unable to pass the basic screening tests required by many employers. More important to employers are the actual skill levels of potential employees. That's why you see states like Kentucky moving to work skills certifications, like the Kentucky Employability Certificate. Learn more. This movement toward a skills-based education and workforce system started with the Labor Secretary's Commission on Achieving Neccessary Skills (SCANS Commission) in the early 1990's. The reports of the SCANS Commission ("What Work Requires of Schools" and "Learning a Living") clearly indicate that workers need certain basic literacy, numeracy, interpersonal and technical skills to earn a middle class wage. Learn more (A side note: ACT, the college testing people, took the work of the SCANS Commission an converted it into Work Keys. Learn more.) Most important SCANS provides the language of skills to bridge the communications gaps among educators, employers and employees. To get up to speed on these issues, read Teaching the New Basic Skills by Murname and Levy. (Published in 1996, its an excellent starting point for most EDPros. If you move quickly, you can buy it used on Amazon for under a buck.) posted by Ed | Not our parents' economy A top Intel executive recently addressed an economic development group in the Portland-Vancouver region. He pointed to the changing dynamics of the global economy. One fact: By 2050 -- well within the lifetime of today's primary school students -- China will be the world's largest economy and China and India together will be more than twice the size of the U.S. economy. Read more. posted by Ed | Rebranding Florida (the state) EDPros in Florida are launching a new marketing campaign. The goal: Wash away images of hurricanes and strengthen images of innovation. Read the details. As Robert Trigaux notes in a recent column, though, any negative impact from the hurricanes is likely to be temporary. Read more. This perspective raises the question of whether Florida's planned $5 million investment makes any sense. Taking that money and investing it in innovative technology education programs -- and then promoting those programs with effective public relations -- would be a smarter bet. Example: Make aggressive investments in innovative community college initiatives, like Seminole Community College's SCCorporate College. Learn more. Another option: Catch the new wave in economic development and expand investments in Florida's innovative universal pre-kindergarten program. Learn more. The Committee for Economic Development in Washington is leading the charge on putting early childhood education on the economic development agenda. Learn more. posted by Ed | Oregon to invest public pension funds in venture capital Friday, November 05, 2004 Oregon's public pensions funds, responding to a mandate from the legislature, are placing $100 million with venture capital firms. Credit Suisse First Boston will manage the investments. Learn more. posted by Ed | The obstacles to exporting The Small Business administration has released a report indicating that many small firms in South Carolina do not have the time or money to develop foreign markets. Read more. DDownload the report. posted by Ed | Web Watch: South Dakota South Dakota has launched a new state economic development web site. Nothing spectacular here, but it is a good, solid integration of a variety of data sources. Data can be downloaded easily, and the information is presented in a clear and direct format. Navigation for the site is easy. Visit the site. posted by Ed | Anatomy of a deal: Dell in the Triad 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 | Seminar on food-based businesses Here's an interesting idea, especially for rural EDPros. An economic development foundation in Mississippi is holding a seminar on "How to start a food-based business". Read more. (To learn more, there's contact information in the article.) posted by Ed | Milwaukee tries to control payday lending Payday lending is a scourge for many inner city neighborhoods. Exceessive interest and fees drains the inner city economy of needed savings. Learn more The Milwaukee City Council this week passed an ordinance that attempts to control the number and location of payday lending operations. Learn more. posted by Ed | Shortages of computer science majors There's a shortage of college students heading into a computer science major. That trend has some speculating that skill shortages will drive more companies offshore. Read more. posted by Ed | Miami as the Gateway State of Florida officials have trademarked Miami as the "Gateway to the Americas." The step is a part of a broader strategy to become the permanent headquarters of the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas. Read more. posted by Ed | South Carolina Chamber refocuses Thursday, November 04, 2004 In a positive move, the South Carolina Chamber will change its focus from shorter term business climate issues to long term competitive challenges facing the state. This step is part of a broader realignment in economic development strategy going on in the state. Led by the Palmetto Institute, civic leaders in South Carolina have embraced the competitiveness frameworks of Michael Porter. They have formed the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness to guide the new strategy. Learn more. posted by Ed | Anatomy of a deal: Dell in the Triad Wednesday, November 03, 2004 Tomorrow, the North Carolina legislature heads into session to consider a big incentive package for Dell. Some aren't so sure that the package is worth the projected returns. Tennessee pulled together a package of $160 million to get its Dell plant. In North Carolina, the package is due to be in the neighborhood of $200 million. The governor estimates that the 2,000 Dell workers will lead to 8,400 additional jobs. Read more. posted by Ed | Fulton County, GA heads to India Fulton County, GA is busy working to attract firms from India. Here's an article from an Indian paper that gives you an update on their strategy. Read more. posted by Ed | Anatomy of a deal: Arkansas shoots for Toyota's 7th plant On Monday, Toyota announced plans to build its sevent assembly plant in the U.S. Akrkansas officlas feel that this time, they have the inside track. Read more. Arkansas shold be prepared. Voters overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the state's constitution to allow the legislature to issue economic development bonds without voter approval. Read more. posted by Ed | Georgia's ambivalence about China Some in Georgia are eager to build stronger ties to China, but the governor is not convinced. Read more posted by Ed | Commercializing research in Maryland Tuesday, November 02, 2004 Maryland has set out to improve its capacity to commercialize research. The Maryland Technology Development Corporation represents the main instrument for improving this performance. Learn more. posted by Ed | Revitalizing Pennsylvania's downtowns Pennsylvania's governor Rendell has launched a package of six initiatives to revitalize cities and towns. The approach is designed to combat the "no growth sprawl" that a recent Brookings report highlighted. Critics on the right, though, are not happy. They see the solution to Pennsylvania's challenges in reduced taxes, weaker union influence and a better education system. The differences of opinion stems from alternative world views. Pragmatists like Rendell see the world inductively. They are willing to launch experiments to figure out "what works". Fiscal conservatives tend to see the world deductively. They have an economic model in their heads, and they push to conform state policy to the model. (EDPros, for the most part, fit into the first camp of inductive pragmatists.) Read more about Governor Rendell's strategy to revitalize the state's downtowns. posted by Ed | Purdue's Center for Advanced Manufacturing Purdue's president represents the type of entrepreneurial leader that is pushing colleges and universities to the forefront of economic development. With the development of Discovery Park, Purdue has become a national leader in developing technology-based commercial developments. In a recent opinion article, President Jischke promoted one of the important components of the university's strategy: Purdue's new Center for Advanced Manufacturing. Learn more. Learn more about Discovery Park. Go. posted by Ed | |
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
 |
|||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
