SSTI Digest

New establishments are responsible for one-third of annual employment creation in the U.S. and have higher measures of productivity when compared to mature surviving establishments, according to a report released last week by the Kaufmann Foundation. Turmoil and Growth: Young Business, Economic Churning, and Productivity Gains, written by Steven Davis of the University of Chicago, John Haltiwanger of the University of Maryland, and Ron Jarmin of the U.S. Census Bureau, sheds light on recent research examining the "churning" process - the continual entry and exit of companies in the national economy. Looking at U.S. employment rates from 1977 to 2005, the average annual increase in new jobs was almost 18 percent, while the annual decrease in jobs was about 15 percent. In both job creation and destruction, business churning was responsible for roughly one-third of employment change, the rest coming from expansion or contraction within existing locations. The authors also found among surviving establishments, younger companies grow faster than older companies in terms of employment. In their first year of existence, employment growth at surviving…

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) recently published its estimate on the real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of each state for 2007, revising previously released figures for 2003-2006.   SSTI has prepared a table showing real GDP per capita for every state and the District of Columbia from 2003 to 2007. The table includes: Ranking for 2007 state GDP per capita; Comparison of 2007 GDP per capita to the national average; Five-year percent change in state GDP per capita; and, Ranking of five-year percent change. The real GDP per capita for the U.S. as a whole was $38,020 in 2007. The District of Columbia is a perennial outlier for the table, given its GDP per capita is more than three times the national average. Delaware led all states with a 2007 value of $56,496 – 49 percent higher than the U.S. average. Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey rounded out the top five states, the same top states in the 2005 and 2006 data. Overall, 18 of the 51 states experienced a real GDP per capita higher than the U.S. average in 2007. By contrast, only 17 states topped the national average in 2003.   Over the period from…

It's no wonder SSTI's Annual Conference presents such a broad range of perspectives and approaches to TBED each year, when our organization draws in active membership from organizations from all across the continent! For example, with the involvement of the Alaska Manufacturing Extension Partnership, SSTI now has active members in 47 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada. Membership allows access to the most comprehensive information about tech-based economic development activities across the nation. Our members tell us that one of the greatest benefits of membership is the ability to turn to SSTI when seeking answers to questions or advice on programs. Having answers to our member’s questions and finding the information they need is our top priority. Additional information regarding membership benefits is available at http://www.ssti.org/benefits.htm. SSTI Welcomes Newest Members State Sponsors Tennessee Technology Development Corporation Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR) Vermont Department of Economic Development Affiliates Alaska Manufacturing Extension Partnership Detroit Renaissance…

The Aerospace, Manufacturing and Information Technology (AMIT) Cluster of Southern Arizona has consolidated its operations with the Arizona Technology Council. Automation Alley was one of 19 organizations chosen to receive 'E' and 'E-Star' Awards, given by the president to recognize American export excellence. The nonprofit Automation Alley, an SSTI affiliate, supports Southeast Michigan's economy through a collaborative culture that focuses on workforce and business development. Raymar Dizon has resigned from the Maryland Venture Fund to become director of technology transfer at Mitre Corp. Jim Hayes, the president of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, passed away on June 6 after a long illness. Hayes was considered one of the state's top experts on economic development. James Ryan was named the first dean of the newly formed Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering being run by North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The National Science Foundation has selected Edward Seidel as the director of its Office of Cyberinfrastructure. Tom Walker…

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist paid a visit to Wall Street last week to celebrate the signing of a new law that will increase the state retirement fund's investment in high-tech industries. Under the new legislation, the Florida State Retirement System will dedicate up to 1.5 percent of the system's trust fund to technology and growth investments. The Miami Herald estimates that this could provide nearly $2 billion for high-tech industries in the state.   The new legislation also will double the number the number of non-pension state dollars that may be used for alternative investments in venture capital firms, hedge funds and direct investments in portfolio companies. This will make $18.4 billion available for initiatives like the Florida Opportunity Fund, which was approved last year.   Florida's $130 billion retirement system is one of the largest public pension systems in the country. State Senate Commerce Committee documents cite the largest system, the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), as a model of a pension fund that has successfully employed economically targeted investments as a part of the state's economic…

Legislators in Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee recently approved spending plans for the upcoming fiscal year. Highlights of appropriations supporting TBED are included below.   Alabama Alabama legislators wrapped up a special session over the weekend resulting in the passage of a $6.4 billion education budget. Lawmakers agreed to a $5 million increase ($40.8 million total) for the Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative. The appropriation is $5 million less than Gov. Bob Riley’s recommendation of $45.8 million. The initiative, which received a substantial boost during the last legislative session (see the June 13, 2007 issue of the Digest), was created in 2002 to improve math and science education throughout the state.   South Carolina Legislators supported the governor’s recommendation to fund the Endowed Chairs program, providing $10 million in FY09. The endowment program was created in 2002 to receive $30 million per year from lottery profits through 2010. A bill to extend the matching endowment program indefinitely by allowing interest earnings from the fund to be used for programmatic support, H.…

To encourage innovation in research, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) recently awarded $600 million to 56 biomedical scientists who will investigate and pursue scientific discoveries ranging from microbiology and immunology to bioengineering and synthetic biology. The awards are provided at an opportune time for the U.S., as federal funding for basic research is declining and concerns regarding the nation’s competitiveness are increasing among the scientific community. HHMI appoints scientists as investigators rather than awarding research grants for a particular project, enabling scientists to explore and change the direction of their research and follow through on projects over many years. This allows for riskier research that may not be as easily supported by federal agencies. Recipients were selected through a competitive process among 1,070 applications submitted nationwide. This year marked the first direct application process in which HHMI assembled a review panel to evaluate the applications rather than requiring institutional approval. A press release outlining the HHMI Awards is available at: http://…

In the midst of a national economic downturn, coupled with stagnant to little growth in wages for even college-educated individuals, state efforts to build a qualified workforce and attract industries in emerging fields that pay above-average wages are crucial to ensuring economic growth.   A recent report on income trends issued jointly by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute finds that one in five U.S. families has a lower income today than they did at the start of the decade. Analyzing state-by-state income trends over the past 20 years, the report also finds a long-standing trend of growing inequality between families in the wealthiest income bracket and those in the middle- to lower-income brackets. In fact, while incomes have declined by 2.5 percent among the bottom fifth of U.S. families since the late 1990s, the data indicates that incomes have increased by 9.1 percent among the top fifth. Wage inequality is listed as the top contributing factor to the income disparity. An examination of income trends since the late 1980s through mid 2000s reveals that in 36 states, the income gap has widened…

Although the U.S. broadband infrastructure has expanded rapidly over the past decade, 45 percent of rural areas still lack access to high-speed Internet services. A recent issue brief from the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices provides a number of strategies that have proven effective in expanding broadband access, particularly in underserved rural areas.   The brief highlights a number of state efforts that have been successful in expanding and improving service in recent years. These include the California Broadband Initiative, ConnectKentucky, Maine's ConnectME Authority and the New York State Council for Universal Broadband. Together, these profiles offer an overview of how states are approaching the digital divide.   NGA also presents a number of specific strategies that can be implemented in states with high-speed Internet gaps to create a comprehensive broadband access initiative. For example, the report provides a guide to 14 state tax credit programs that have been used to increase demand for broadband services or to encourage the development of new broadband infrastructure.   Other…

To speed the commercialization of technologies developed within the state's three public research universities, the Arizona state auditor general has made several recommendations that also may be of value to tech transfer efforts and academic institutions across the country.  Commissioned by the state legislature to conduct the assessment, the Office of the Auditor General analyzed the structure and performance of the individual technology transfer strategies adopted by the University of Arizona (UA), Arizona State University (ASU) and Northern Arizona University (NAU). The final report, released in mid-May, also benchmarks each school against at least 15 of its peers.   The auditor’s recommendations could be applied to institutions with any size of research portfolios. The three Arizona institutions vary greatly in the amount of R&D conducted – UA had $535 million in research expenditures in 2006, ranking 13th nationally, ASU $132 million and NAU had $21 million.   The three institutions also vary in their approach to management of their tech transfer efforts. The University of Arizona’s commercialization…

Since the inception of the HOPE scholarship program in Georgia 15 years ago, the number of state-sponsored merit-based scholarship initiatives to increase the number of students attending in-state colleges and universities has increased throughout the country. One such statewide initiative, Florida’s Bright Futures Program, was established in 1997 and has since become the second largest merit-based scholarship program in the U.S. At the recent annual forum of the Association of Institutional Research held in Seattle, Dr. Shouping Hu of Florida State University presented a paper examining the possible unintended consequences for student bachelor degree enrollment in the STEM fields before and after the implementation of Florida’s program.   The research finds in the two years before Bright Futures was introduced, enrollment in the STEM degree programs was at 48.0 percent of total baccalaureate enrollment in 1995 and 47 percent in 1996. In the two years after the program was started, STEM enrollment dropped to 39.2 percent in 1998, then to 37.7 percent in 1999. This represents a nine percentage point decline when comparing the two-year intervals, even…

The U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA) recently announced Ben Franklin Technology Partners (BFTP) as the winner of the "Excellence in Technology-led Economic Development" award, as part of EDA's Excellence in Economic Development Awards 2008. BFTP, created in 1983, has regional offices in Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and State College. Janet Harrah was named the director of a new center being started at Northern Kentucky University that is similar to Wichita State University's Center for Economic Development and Business Research, where Harrah will remain director until July 25. Peter Hermann resigned as president of the North Carolina Technology Association. Robert McGrath, currently senior vice president for research at Ohio State University, will help lead global laboratory operations at Battelle, starting in August 2008. No official title has been developed for McGrath's new position, which will emphasize development in energy policy and sources of renewable energy. J.D. Stack was selected to replace Oleg Kaganovich as chief executive of the Sacramento Area Regional Technology…