American Indicators Announces Partnership with Beacon Institute

“Job creation” is the catch phrase that is guaranteed to get attention in today’s economic and political landscape. But who or what can create more jobs? Certainly not politicians or the government, regardless of what they claim. 

The hard truth is this: jobs are created when businesses expand or locate in a marketplace that is conducive to growth. At the macro level, keeping businesses and attracting new ones are the lifeblood of a state’s economy. When you take it to the micro level, individual cities come into play. 

Most think tanks can easily identify the four or five best places that new businesses would want to locate in your state, as well as the ones that should be avoided at all costs. But what about the dozens of cities and incorporated areas in between the winners and the losers? How do they rate? 

The Beacon Center of Tennessee and American Indicators have partnered to offer all State Policy Network members a chance to purchase personalized studies tailored specifically for their state titled 2012 Business-Friendly Cities. 

Each study will be modeled on the Beacon Center’s highly successful How Business-Friendly Are Tennessee’s Cities? report, which ranks the state’s 50 most populous cities according to their business climates. The categories reflect each city’s commitment to a business-friendly atmosphere based on economic vitality and community appeal, and the absence of stifling taxes and restrictive regulatory burdens. 

Each report will compare and contrast a number of factors, including: 

• What cities have the best tax policy?
• Which have more community appeal, such as low costs of living and crime rates, and quality educational performance? 
• What cities have experienced the most year-over-year population and job growth? 
• What type of economic vitality does each city have, including the average incomes for local residents?

This report is second in popularity only to the Beacon Center’s famous Pork Report.  In 2011, How Business-Friendly Are Tennessee’s Cities? garnered nearly 50 major media hits, including television appearances, multiple radio interviews, and dozens of newspaper mentions.

The city-by-city ranking, the only one of its kind in Tennessee, has become an incubator where local governments compete to lower taxes and regulations, boosting their friendliness to businesses. Your think tank can lead the way in “state” by creating a positive pressure that will encourage competition between cities and spur a greater awareness of overlooked “best buys” for businesses in the market for a place to locate.

2012 Business-Friendly Cities report is a sound value for think tanks because it promotes:

• The value of small tax burdens, job growth, and quality education;
•  Competitiveness among cities in your state; and
•  Positive name recognition for your think tank through significant media attention.

Each study comes with a full report, complete with appendices outlining each city’s performance in the aforementioned categories, as well as the subcategories that make up the categorical rankings.  Turnaround time is approximately 2-3 weeks.

Contact me at 205-999-2311 or americanindicators@gmail.com  for more information.