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Making the Grade
Connecticut earns good marks on CFED economic report card
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Business New Haven
12/13/1999
By: Michael C. Bingham
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Connecticut's economy has improved sufficiently that it now ranks among the best in the nation. So says the 1999 Development Report Card for the States, released earlier this month by the Washington-based non-profit Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED).
The CFED annual comparison grades each state's economy using more than 70 economic measures into three graded (A to F) indexes: performance, business vitality and development capacity. The indices are structured to ask,: How many economic benefits and opportunities is the state's economy providing its citizens? How vital and dynamic is the state's business sector? And what is the state's capacity for future sustainable development and recovery from economic adversity?
In the "performance" index, after three years of average grades, Connecticut rose to tenth nationally. This improvement came largely in strength of high rankings in earnings and job quality (tops in the nation) and resource efficiency (an eighth-place ranking).
The state's rankings for equity and quality of life were average (21st in each case) among all states.
The state's business vitality has improved to a rank of 12th among all states, earning it a grade of B in this index - in 1996 Connecticut earned an F. The improvement is attributed to the "impressive" competitive nature of the state's businesses - with a first-place ranking in traded sector strength. Connecticut's entrepreneurial energy is also high, with the second-greatest number of "gazelle" companies in the nation and fifth-highest number of technology-based companies.
However, the state's low ranking (39th) in "structural diversity" placed it below West Virginia in that measurement.
Connecticut maintained a grade of B for the second year in a row in terms of development capacity, showing an inability to return to the A it achieved from 1995 to '97. The state's A grade in human resources (ranking fourth nationally) is due to its best-in-the-nation rankings in math and reading skill proficiency, as well as high rankings in average teacher salary and college attainment (both fourth).
The state's development-capacity grade was dragged down by low rankings for financial resources (40th nationally) and "amenity resources" (44th), both which earned grades of D.
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