The Promise and Perils of Privatizing State Economic Development Agencies

<p>Many states have transferred various aspects of their economic development programs to private non-profit or quasi-public organizations.  Rhode Island and Florida were two of the first states to take this approach.  In 1995, the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation was launched in order to consolidate all of Rhode Island’s economic development activities in one entity.  In 1996, Enterprise Florida, Inc. was created to become the lead entity for economic development in the Sunshine State.  Other states soon followed as evidenced in the establishment of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation in 1999 to market Michigan to prospective businesses, and to promote job creation, talent development, and tourism.</p> <p>More recently, Indiana (2005), Wisconsin (2011), Ohio (2011), and Arizona (2011) decided to put a public-private partnership structure in place to advance their respective economic development efforts.  The Indiana Economic Development Corporation fully replaces the former Department of Commerce and is designed to “respond quickly to the needs of businesses” by functioning “like a business.”  The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation is Wisconsin’s lead economic development agency and employs an approach that ” is customer-service focused and aligns with the needs of businesses.”  JobsOhio is a private nonprofit corporation “run by experienced business people who are focused on working with job creators that seek to grow and locate in Ohio.”   The Arizona Commerce Authority is “the state’s leading economic development organization with a streamlined mission to grow and strengthen Arizona’s economy” by recruiting, growing, and creating businesses.</p> <p>North Carolina is the latest state to privatize a significant portion of its economic [...]</p>