What Keeps North Carolina on Top?
Jonathan Morgan is a School of Government faculty member. Industry trade publications consistently rank North Carolina among the top five states with respect to its attractiveness for business locations. For example, North Carolina has been ranked No. 1 in eight of the last nine years by Site Selection magazine in its assessment of overall state business climates. The various business climate rankings are based on multiple criteria including executive surveys, cost factors, labor supply, regulatory environment, tax policies, quality of life and infrastructure. North Carolina’s apparent status as a preferred destination for business contributes to the perception that the state is a trendsetter in economic development. To be sure, the state benefits from visionary leadership in the public and private sectors that has invested in important long-term projects such as the renowned Research Triangle Park, and the emerging North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, while maintaining strong support for higher education and physical infrastructure improvements. But to what extent is North Carolina the leader and innovator in economic development that many perceive it to be? How much of this is about perception versus reality?
Assuming North Carolina does indeed have a genuine competitive edge, at least four factors should be examined more fully in order to better understand the state’s unique formula for economic development success. 1. People The N.C. Department of Commerce now markets North Carolina as “The State of Minds”. Such a motto seems especially appropriate given the large numbers of really smart people that tend to cluster in certain parts of the state. For example, the Research Triangle area is known to be among the regions with the most Ph.D.s per capita in the U.S. It is no coincidence that highly educated folks tend to be concentrated near university campuses. The “State of Minds” theme also reflects what North Carolina aspires to become over time, which is a haven for even more smart creative people with innovative ideas that give rise to new enterprises that will propel the state’s economy forward. A key question is what this actually means in terms of specific economic development strategies. This is an issue that the state’s best and brightest will explore at the 25th Annual Emerging Issues Forum. 2. Place When I was working at the N.C. Department of Commerce in the late 1990s, the marketing slogan was “North Carolina: A Better Place to Be”. What exactly does this mean? The state has many locational, cultural, recreational, educational, economic, social/civic, and natural/scenic assets that make it an attractive location to live, work, play, and operate a business. But, what is it specifically about the attributes of the state that supports economic development innovation and success? How can the state’s quality of place and unique assets be better leveraged for economic development purposes? 3. Policies and Programs The state’s customized industrial training program is considered an exemplar of how to utilize community colleges to support economic development. In addition, targeted statutory tax credits (e.g. Article 3J credits) and discretionary grant programs (e.g. JDIG) exist at the state-level to promote private investment and job creation. Generally speaking, it is obvious that these programs help North Carolina compete with other states for jobs and investment. However, it is not clear whether the state is doing anything particularly innovative with its incentive policies and programs beyond merely offering better deals (i.e. more money) to companies relative to other states? Could it be time to augment and enhance existing policies by thinking outside the box a bit, lest the state lose its competitive edge? 4. Institutional Assets The network of organizations and institutions supporting economic development in North Carolina is remarkable. In addition to its many prominent colleges and universities, North Carolina is home to several distinctive organizations that are at the forefront of promoting innovative economic development policies within the state and throughout the U.S. These include the Southern Growth Policies Board, Institute for Emerging Issues at North Carolina State University, N.C Biotechnology Center, RTI International, MDC, N.C. Rural Economic Development Center, Regional Technology Strategies, N.C. Institute of Minority Economic Development, Golden LEAF Foundation, and a regional office of CFED. To what extent does the state enjoy “knowledge spillovers” from this extensive network of organizations, such that good economic development ideas are always “in the air”, so to speak, just waiting to be implemented? Which of the above factors makes the most difference for North Carolina? I suspect the real answer is some combination of all of the above, but what do you think?
