EVENTS

BHI Event 11/19/2008 BHI’s Eighth Annual

State Competitiveness Report

Opening remarks by Governor Deval Patrick.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - 9:30 a.m.

Sargent Hall
First Floor Function Hall, Suffolk University Law School
120 Tremont Street
Boston, MA 02108
RVSP - phone: 617-573-8750;
e-mail: compete@beaconhill.org

BOSTON – Governor Deval Patrick will introduce a program in which the Beacon Hill Institute will present its Eighth Annual Competitiveness Report. The presentation will take place at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, November 19 at Suffolk University Law School, 120 Tremont Street, Boston.

The report will show where Massachusetts ranks relative to the other 49 states in terms of its ability to attract business and maintain a high standard of living for its residents.Dr. Jonathan Haughton, BHI Senior Economist and co-author of the report, will examine the Commonwealth’s performance in the context of the current economic turmoil facing all 50 states.

Dr. Haughton will be followed by a panel featuring:

• Greg Bialecki, Massachusetts Undersecretary for Business Development,
• John Regan, Vice President of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, and
• Michael George, CEO of OATSystems, Inc., will discuss the report.

The BHI competitiveness index is based on a set of 43 indicators divided into eight subindexes – government and fiscal policy, security, infrastructure, human resources, technology, business incubation, openness as well as environmental policy. The overall index is an average of the subindexes, each of which is itself an average of the indicators making up that subindex. The index ranges from “1” to “10,” with “10” indicating the highest score in a category and “1” indicating the worst, and is centered on “5.” The breadth of the BHI index distinguishes it from more narrowly focused measures of competitiveness that target just taxes, high tech or economic freedom.

Sponsored by:
THE BEACON HILL INSTITUTE &
THE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS at SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY