Florida is among the states leading the nation in terms of globalization, however has a way to go in other major aspects of the “New Economy”.
A report published last week by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and reported on Friday by the Washington Post looks at the U.S. state economies of 2014 in light of 25 indicators broken up into five key areas: (1) knowledge jobs, (2) globalization, (3) economic dynamism, (4) the digital economy, and (5) innovation capacity.
Aggregating scores on all of these, Florida scores exactly in the middle of the pack, at No. 25 among states.
Florida scores at No. 21 in patent generation overall but at No. 11 for inventor patents; No. 38 in presence of scientists and engineers; No. 21 in broadband telecommunications; No. 20 in initial public offerings; and No. 18 in “fast growing firms”. Florida has the 5th highest rate of “job churning” in the U.S.; and the 13th highest rate of entrepreneurial activity.
These factors, among others, land Florida in the top half or quartile of states in “economic dynamism” — defined as how easy it is for a new business to flourish and businesses to adapt in the state.
Florida’s outlook isn’t as strong in terms of high-tech jobs or the digital economy. Florida comes in at the bottom, at No. 52, in e-governance; and No. 44 in the influx of “knowledge workers” from other states.
Georgia and Texas ranked comparably to Florida, with the three leading other southern states in nearly all factors.
Comparably, Massachusetts ranked first in the nation, and was praised for an economy that is adaptive, high-tech, and diverse.
