Doing business in Delaware
UD updates 'How Delaware Compares' project, unveils new interactive website
12:06 p.m., April 28, 2011--How attractive is Delaware as a location for doing business? What challenges will the First State face in the decades ahead? Answers to these and many other questions can be found by using the tools found in the latest edition of "How Delaware Compares," an extensive inventory of key quality-of-life and economic indicators, the University of Delaware and the Delaware Public Policy Institute (DPPI) announced on Wednesday, April 27.
All of the data and indicators are now embodied in an interactive website, How Delaware Compares, launched today.
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“The new website improves on a model initiated years ago by taking the data a step further,” said John Taylor, executive director of the DPPI. “The project is enriched by the expertise of UD faculty, who have offered insight and context from their respective fields to supplement the Delaware-focused data.”
Edward Ratledge, director of the Center for Applied Demography and Survey Research (CADSR) at UD, prefaced the unveiling of the new site with a presentation on Delaware’s economic and demographic trends.
“It is important to trace what we’ve been through the last few decades to see how the Delaware economy has taken shape and to understand what the future might look like,” said Ratledge.
Playfully giving those who might be “allergic to numbers” the opportunity to leave, Ratledge took the audience on a fast-paced history through charts and graphs on everything from home sales and past-due mortgages to unemployment rates and personal income per capita in Delaware.
Following Ratledge’s presentation, William Latham and Kenneth Lewis, directors of UD’s Center for Applied Business and Economic Research (CABER), talked about exploring long-run development issues for the state of Delaware using ‘How Delaware Compares.’
They began with a tour of the site and explained to audience members the benefits of the new Multistate Charts tool.
“You can now see Delaware’s rank on indicators ranging from agriculture and environment to taxes and transportation, and compare it with those of up to 19 other states at a time,” said Latham, who is also a professor of economics in the University’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics.
“You can also compare Delaware to the top or bottom states or to the states that rank closest to it,” added Lewis, also a professor of economics and Chaplin Tyler Professor of Business.
According to Latham and Lewis, the data, which cover more than 17 major categories and over 400 sub-categories, can be used to identify Delaware’s many assets as well as the reasons why the state can be an attractive location for doing business and how it may become even more attractive in the future.
“This tool enables us to ask questions like, ‘what makes people and businesses decide to move to Delaware,’” said Latham, pointing out the First State’s rankings on housing costs, commuting times, labor unions and more.
In true educational form, the tool also identifies areas where Delaware faces serious challenges and where the state’s standing can be improved.
“Today we’ve shown you just a few examples of what the new ‘How Delaware Compares’ can do,” said Latham. “We encourage you to visit the website, download the tool and create customized reports for your own analysis to help you recognize the challenges and opportunities facing our state.”
‘How Delaware Compares’ is a collaboration between the University of Delaware and the DPPI of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce and is managed by UD’s Institute for Public Administration and CABER. The website was made possible by a grant from AstraZeneca.
Article by Kathryn A. Marrone
Photo courtesy Delaware State Chamber of Commerce