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PPI Releases 2002 State New Economy Index
One of the most widely used barometers of states' relative positions in technology-based economies has been updated and expanded. The 2002 State New Economy Index: Benchmarking Economic Transformation in the States, published by the Progressive Policy Institute's Technology and New Economy Project (PPI) and released online this week, offers an innovation-oriented public policy framework for the states to foster success in the New Economy. States that overhaul traditional approaches to economic development and replace them with a new approach focused on boosting skills, entrepreneurship, technology and quality of life are best prepared to prosper in the New Economy, according to this new accounting of state economic transformation to the New Economy.
The 2002 Index adds four new indicators and more finely tuned measurements to assess state progress since PPI's first report in 1999. A total of 21 indicators in 2001 are distributed across five categories: knowledge jobs; globalization; economic dynamism and competition; the transformation to a digital economy; and technological innovation capacity.
Using a weighted formula of standardized scores, PPI found Massachusetts, Washington, California, Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, Virginia, Delaware and New York as the top 10 performing states in the New Economy, respectively. Raw scores and relative rankings are provided in each indicator for all 50 states.
PPI argues in the study that the traditional goals and approaches to state economic development need rethinking in light of what works in the New Economy. To assure that all states meet the challenges of the New Economy, the study outlines eight key steps states can take:
- Focus on the quality, not just the quantity of jobs
- Know the state's function in the global economy
- Get smart about business incentives
- Co-invest in the skills of the workforce
- Co-invest in an infrastructure for innovation
- Support industry clusters
- Boost quality of life, and,
- Help more regions succeed in the New Economy.
2002 State New Economy Index: Benchmarking Economic Transformation in the States is available at: http://www.ppionline.org