Delaware ranks first for Business Incubation in State Competitiveness Report
How does one state create more economic activity, and hence more income for its citizens, than other states? What special characteristics or attributes lead to generating this higher income?
For the past eight years, The Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University has been attempting to answer these questions by measuring the long-term competitiveness of an area. This week, they announced the release of the 2008 State Competitiveness Report.
What is Competitiveness?
We consider a state to be competitive if it has in place the policies and conditions that ensure and sustain a high level of per capita income and continued growth. To achieve this, a state should be able both to attract and incubate new businesses and to provide an environment that is conducive to the growth of existing firms.
So how competitive is Delaware?
Overall, Delaware ranked 19th.
Delaware ranked 1st in business incubation and bank deposits per capita, and near the top in scientists and engineers as a percentage of the labor force. It got low grades for carbon emissions per 1,000 square miles and air quality index.
Here’s a snapshot of Delaware:
Government and fiscal policy subindex- Rank #24
Security subindex- Rank #38
Infrastructure subindex- Rank #33
Human resources subindex- Rank #25
Technology subindex- Rank #14
Business incubation subindex- Rank #1
Openness subindex- Rank #14
Environmental policy subindex- Rank #50
There’s a complete breakdown of advantages & disadvantages under each subindex available in the full report: