Louisiana Fact Book: 2005 Edition
How Do We Measure Up…How Far Do We Have to Go
In 2001 CABL issued a report entitled Measuring Our Progress: Louisiana’s Place in the New Economy, In it we looked at what it means to be a part of the New Economy and assessed where Louisiana stands. It showed that while the South as a whole outpaced the nation in job, population and income growth during the decade of the 1990s, Louisiana lagged considerably behind the region and wasn’t competitive with most other southern states. To counter this trend, CABL offered a list of 10 recommendations for moving Louisiana forward in this decade.
Three years later, nearly half-way through the decade, we thought it was a good idea to revisit those recommendations, note where there has been either progress or neglect, and bring them back to the forefront as our state increases its efforts at economic development.
These recommendations aren’t particularly sexy or trendy. And while they seek to position us for the New Economy, most of them are basic and fundamental. As we noted then, following through on these recommendations will require both perseverance and leadership. We have started to address some of them and that’s good, but we can’t stop. To do so would put us farther behind than we already are, and as the data in this Fact Book make abundantly clear, that is something we cannot afford.
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