I’m always on the lookout for interesting economic development examples that may have relevance to us here in New Brunswick. Take the example of Kannapolis, North Carolina. It’s located about 80 kms outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. The City was…
Continue ReadingThere big ideas and then there are big ideas
You can’t say that newspaper columnists are ones to back down. This guy in the Halifax Herald still thinks that electric car manufacturing could go in Nova Scotia. The fact that he never mentioned the federal government in either his…
Continue ReadingOdds and ends
A few interesting stories this morning in the local media. From the TJ, family incomes in New Brunswick increased at the second-worst pace in the country in the decade between 1998 and 2007. New Brunswick’s median income level was the…
Continue ReadingBaby boom?
The TJ has a story today about New Brunswick’s baby boom. New Brunswick came out on the plus side of the life-cycle equation with a total gain of 1,376 new citizens, compared to 421 in P.E.I.; 134 in Nova Scotia…
Continue ReadingYou got to love academics
There is no doubt that university profs/Phds tend to be smarter than the average joes like the rest of us but when it comes to economic development even the profs show some sophomoric tendencies. Consider Université de Moncton economist Pierre-Marcel…
Continue ReadingTiming is everything in economic development
It’s kind of obvious but for a small province like New Brunswick, timing is everything when it comes to economic development. Take the idea of electric car manufacturing. Just 3-4 years ago if New Brunswick had said it wanted to…
Continue ReadingAn Ode to Steve Dempsey
I tip my hat to the outgoing CEO of the GHP in my column today. Whenever someone leaves the top position at an economic development organization like this, I hope to see some sort of public debriefing exercise where the…
Continue ReadingIncentives are only part of the picture
Probably the most controversial part of economic development is the use of grants, loans and tax incentives by government to entice companies to invest their money in a specific jurisdiction. I had another conversation this week with a guy who…
Continue ReadingImmigration slowly ticking up
Someone sent me the latest data on immigration. The numbers are trending upwards. Canada – Permanent residents by province or territory and urban area, 2004-2008 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Moncton 204 187 262 343 363 Saint John…
Continue ReadingGetting beyond natural resources
Natural resource industries will continue to play an important role in New Brunswick but will likely never be as important to the economy as in the past. This idea of loosening up the rules around mining exploration and crossing our…
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