Competition Among the States for Business

USA Today has published a short piece on states competing to attract business. It notes how Nevada is pitted against California, New Hampshire vs. Massachusetts, Indiana taking on some of its neighbors, and New Jersey against New York.

This phenomenon can be a plus or a minus for business and the economy. If it focuses on politicians picking winners and losers, and doling out subsidies (taking resources from one business, for example, to hand it over to another), then it’s a negative. If it focuses on broadly lower taxes and reduced regulation that helps all businesses and entrepreneurs, then it’s a big positive.

Of course, it’s always handy to check out the SBE Council’s “Small Business Survival Index” to see where the states rank in terms of their public policy climates for entrepreneurship and small business.

Raymond J. Keating
Chief Economist
Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council

The States and Business "Survivability"

In this interview with Build Your Business radio host Barbara Weltman, CEO Karen Kerrigan talks about the climate for entrepreneurship in the states and why it matters to small business and the health of state economies. She reviews the current climate of “legislative activism,” and what Governors and legislators should be doing to enable entrepreneurship and vibrant, growing economies.