When a city or a town snags a huge new auto plant or a corporate headquarters, local politicians and the media trumpet the good news. But today, local economic-development commissions are turning their sights to smaller companies and asking how they can help.
The new emphasis on smaller firms is prompted by the realisation that they create most of the jobs local economies depend upon.
Companies tend to move to find lower labour costs, lower electricity costs, to follow a major customer or to find lower taxes.
Source: Jeff Bailey, Firms Get More Attention, Help From Agencies, Wall Street Journal, February 11, 2003.
For text (WSJ subscription required)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1044909486200020383-search,00.html
For more on State Business Environment http://www.ncpa.org/iss/sta/
FMF Policy Bulletin\11 February 2003
