{"id":38,"date":"2012-06-21T12:57:00","date_gmt":"2012-06-21T12:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/index.php\/2012\/06\/21\/new-study-successful-economic\/"},"modified":"2017-06-20T16:16:16","modified_gmt":"2017-06-20T16:16:16","slug":"new-study-successful-economic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/index.php\/2012\/06\/21\/new-study-successful-economic\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

New Study Identifies Successful Economic Development Public Policies<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nLast
\nweek the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released their annual analysis<\/a> of public
\npolicies that are driving economic development around the United States.  This study also identified the states that
\nare \u201cmost likely to grow, create jobs and prosper\u201d in the next decade.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nThe
\nU.S. Chamber finds that the traditional model of recruiting industry and jobs
\nby offering incentives is no longer enough. 
\nThe most successful states over the past few years shared a number of
\ncommonalities.   Part of their success
\nderives from location and part is through proactive policies that encourage
\neconomic development. <\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nIn part, the states with the highest growth in
\njobs and gross domestic product are the result of having a state economy that
\nis heavily invested in agriculture and energy.  
\nThe United States is the world leader in food production, exporting $135
\nbillion in agricultural products in 2011. 
\nLast year represented a record year as worldwide demand for food
\ncontinues to increase.  Having a base
\neconomy anchored by agriculture provides stability and growth that tends to be
\nrecession-proof.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nIf
\nagriculture provides a stable base then the energy sector supercharged states\u2019
\neconomies in 2011.  The growth of natural
\ngas and the tapping of new oil formations have turned this country into a net
\nEXPORTER of petroleum products for the first time since 1950.  This surprising turn-around has not only
\ncreated lots of jobs, but the jobs are generally high wage positions.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nOver
\nthe past few years, Arkansas benefited from a stable agricultural base as well
\nas an energy sector economy that has helped carry the state through the latest
\nrecession.  The state cannot rely on its
\nnatural advantages alone to create jobs and grow our economy.  So what are the public policies that are
\nworking in other states?<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nA
\nhighly trained workforce with a strong background in math, science, technology
\nand engineering is critical in attracting, retaining and growing jobs.  The report finds that even during periods of
\nhigh unemployment, like those experienced over the past four years, \u201cthousands
\nof jobs throughout America cannot be filled because of a growing skills
\ngap.\u201d  Not all of these high-demand jobs
\nrequire a four-year degree.  Many need
\nspecialized training or a two-year degree so states must support both
\ntypes.  States also need to support
\nprograms that connect high tech graduates to jobs. These efforts typically
\nutilize a statewide job bank and partnerships with employers.  The good news is that Arkansas scores well in several higher
\neducation rankings – #5 in higher education efficiency, #5 in high school
\nadvance placement and #17 in job placement efficiency, according to the study.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nInfrastructure
\ninvestment also plays an important role in economic development.  The U.S. Chamber finds that \u201cStates and
\ncities must continually upgrade their highways, airports, harbors, utility distribution
\nsystems, railways, water and sewer systems, and communications networks to keep
\npace with the requirements of an ever-changing business environment.\u201d  Roads must be sufficient to meet the demands
\nof the business and residents while access to high speed broadband is vital for
\nbusinesses to compete.  According to the
\nanalysis, Arkansas does not rank high in road quality.  However, voters will have an opportunity in
\nNovember to authorize a temporary half-cent sales tax to fund new highways in
\nthe state, which would significantly improve our state\u2019s infrastructure.  According to the U.S. Chamber, in Arkansas
\n\u201c[t]ransportation infrastructure improvements are especially critical in
\nmaintaining affordable shipping options for the state\u2019s product-centric industries,
\nincreasing economic competitiveness and long-term job creation.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nTaxes
\nand regulations are also important aspects of a strong economic climate.  They find that a \u201creasonable tax code and a
\nsensible, predictable regulatory environment can encourage investment.\u201d  Many of the states that have seen tremendous
\ngrowth over the past decade have made a concerted effort to review business
\nregulations and eliminate those that are overly burdensome and streamline governmental
\nprocesses especially those related to payment of business taxes.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nFinally,
\npolicies that encourage and support innovation and entrepreneurship are
\nproducing a tremendous return on investment for states around the country.  In Maryland, the state invested $70 million
\nto support startup and early-stage companies that emerged from that state\u2019s
\nresearch universities.  They found that
\nfor each $1 invested by the state, an additional $38 dollars of private funding
\nwas raised to support entrepreneurs in Maryland.  Supporting innovation goes hand-in-hand with
\nsupporting higher education\u2019s efforts to increase graduates in science, math,
\ntechnology and engineering.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nSo,
\napplying the U.S. Chamber’s analysis to Arkansas finds that the state enjoys a
\nsolid agricultural base as well as a strong energy sector presence.  Both sectors should be support and encouraged to continue to grow and produce jobs.  The state should continue to fund higher education
\nand encourage students to pursue high tech related degrees and
\ncertifications.  Additionally, support
\nfor programs that encourage entrepreneurship and fund early stage companies is
\nimportant.  A review of existing business
\nregulations may be in order to find rules that unnecessarily waste time and
\ncreate added business expense.  Finally,
\ninvestment in infrastructure is vital to Arkansas\u2019 economy and necessary if the
\nstate hopes to add jobs and compete with our surrounding states.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nDownload the full report HERE<\/a>.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Study Identifies Successful Economic Development Public Policies Last week the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released their annual analysis of public policies that are driving economic development around the United States.  This study also identified the states that are \u201cmost likely to grow, create jobs and prosper\u201d in the next decade. The U.S. Chamber finds that the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[18,22,50,43,10,51],"class_list":["post-38","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chambernews","tag-arkansas","tag-economic-development","tag-jobs","tag-northwest-arkansas","tag-rogers","tag-u-s-chamber-of-commerce"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8RhO8-C","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":143,"href":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38\/revisions\/143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}