Georgia not among future’s hottest spots

If you don’t like this economy (and who does?), and want to be part of a new economy instead, you might want to move to Massachusetts or Washington or Maryland.

Those states lead the nation in having the right stuff for a “new economy” of highly skilled, highly technical and highly paid workers, according to a study funded by the nonprofit Kauffman Foundation.

Such states also are more likely to emerge from the current economic crisis a little sooner and in better shape than others, said Robert Atkinson, president of the research group Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, which conducted the study.

“Certainly, they’re in the best or at least better position,” Atkinson said.

Georgia ranked No. 21 on the list, down from No. 18 six years earlier.

In developing its State New Economy Index, Atkinson’s nonprofit research group considered everything from workers’ education levels and each state’s number of high-tech jobs to exports, entrepreneurship and initial public offerings.

Massachusetts, which has transformed itself from a low-wage manufacturing hub into a hot spot for biotech, software development and medical research, topped the list in both 1999 and 2002.

With the exception of Washington state, which was No. 2 on this year’s list, most of the top “new economy” states were in the Northeast or mid-Atlantic regions. Maryland was No. 3, followed by Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut and Virginia.

On the bottom of the list were Mississippi, West Virginia, Arkansas, Alabama and Wyoming.

Atkinson said many of the lowest-ranked states have traditionally pursued a strategy of offering incentives to attract relatively low-wage, out-of-state employers —- call centers, manufacturers and others —- to their back yards for short-term job gains without considering future implications.

“That strategy really fell apart as companies moved to (even cheaper) places like Mexico and India and China,” he said.

More successful “new economy” states, on the other hand, invested in programs designed to expand their high-tech workforce, foster entrepreneurship and promote global trade.

The study highlighted different states’ strengths and weaknesses when it comes to the building blocks of new high-tech, high-wage state economies.

Georgia, at No. 21, got high scores for its number of fastest-growing firms and its general “economic dynamism,” but got relatively poor marks for its low immigration of knowledge workers and its manufacturing base.

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation is a nonprofit public policy research group that seeks to advise government and other policy makers on innovation and digital economy issues.

The Kauffman Foundation is a nonprofit foundation that promotes entrepreneurship and innovation to help foster economic growth.

NEW ECONOMY LEADERS

1. Massachusetts

2. Washington

3. Maryland

4. Delaware

5. New Jersey

21. Georgia

Source: Information Technology and Innovation Foundation’s 2008 State New Economy Index

HOW GEORGIA STACKS UP

Rankings in key categories:

No. 23 in base of high-tech professionals

No. 35 in workforce education

No. 41 in immigration of knowledge workers

No. 6 in fastest-growing firms

No. 30 in initial public offerings

Source: Information Technology and Innovation Foundation’s 2008 State New Economy Index