SSTI Digest

Bo Fishback is the new vice president of entrepreneurship for the Kauffman Foundation.

A number of regional economic development organizations in Tennessee have formed a partnership called Innovation Valley Inc. Partners in Innovation Valley Inc. include the Blount County Chamber of Commerce, Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership, Loudon County Economic Development Agency, Oak Ridge Economic Partnership, The Roane Alliance and Tellico Reservoir Development Agency.

Dr. Cynthia McIntyre was named senior vice president of the Council on Competitiveness.

Egils Milbergs was appointed director of Washington's newly formed Economic Development Commission.

David Rooney will replace Tyler Fairbank as president of the Berkshire Economic Development Corp., effective next month. Rooney leaves the Empire State Development Corp. as its regional director.

Helene Schember became the first executive director of the Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future Dec. 3, joining the center as its first full-time staff member.

Peggy Tadej has left the National Association of Regional Councils to work in research at the Department of Transportation for the District of Columbia.

Kansas University has appointed Steve Warren as its first full-time vice provost for research and graduate studies.

The DC Technology Council and the Washington, DC Economic Partnership have joined to form a new association that will keep the name Washington, DC Economic Partnership.

According to the latest index from JointVenture Silicon Valley, 2007 looks like a pretty good year compared to 2006 when you look at many standard measures of economic performance. There were 28,000 new jobs created, a 1.5 percent increase in population, and 21 percent growth in solar and wind energy installations. Water use also dropped 6 percent, venture capital investments were up 11 percent, median household income rose, and city revenues were up 37 percent.   A closer look at some of the socio-economic indicators in the Silicon Valley Index, first published in 1995, suggests all is not good for the sustainability of the Valley’s economy, however. Foreclosure rates were four times higher than the previous year, high school graduation rates dropped, and reading proficiencies dropped.  

The agricultural states that lie east of the Rocky Mountains are at the center of an escalating decline in population, far exceeding that of other regions of the country. Of particular concern is the effect of population loss among young, educated workers on the states’ economies, resulting in a brain drain that could leave the region lagging the rest of the nation for many years to come.   A number of areas cry “brain drain” whenever they see statistics for where graduates go after finishing college. Often, those arguments are made without looking at the more useful measure of net migration, the result of considering in-migration as well as out-migration.  

In recent years, Iowa, like many midwestern states, has experienced a boom in ethanol production. Iowa's natural competitive advantage in growing and processing corn has helped it to move to the forefront of the emerging biofuels industry. The state provides numerous incentives and assistance programs through its Department of Natural Resources to help spur the creation of ethanol-related companies and jobs. A new report by Iowa State University economist David Swenson, however, argues that even if these programs are successful at building a strong ethanol industry, the overall economic impact of this success would be smaller than predicted.