George Erickcek, a senior regional economist at the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo, says Michigan might encourage more new investment by offering targeted tax credits on new manufacturing equipment rather than eliminating the personal property tax. Erickcek also says Michigan’s new 6 percent Corporate Income Tax might leave the state strapped for tax […]
Business Watch
Covering the intersection of business and policy, and informing Michigan employers and workers on the long road back from coronavirus. Our Michigan Economic Dashboard shows key metrics that show how the state is performing.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Michigan's venture capitalists step up to start-ups
If Michigan’s economy is to become more innovative and entrepreneurial, as Gov. Rick Snyder says it must, then it will need more start-up companies like 3D Biomatrix in Ann Arbor. The company, spun out of research at the University of Michigan, produces three-dimensional cell culture plates used in medical research. Its products could lead to […]
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Festivals haul in $700 million for Michigan
They celebrate fruit, cheese, beer, wine, music, the arts, holidays, seasons, cultures, industries, hobbies, geography, history and … well, pretty much all things Michigan. They go by all sorts of names — fairs, festivals, events — but the roughly 4,000-5,000 such gatherings annually share an important attribute: the generation of millions of dollars for the […]
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Oh, quit whining
MACKINAC ISLAND — Everybody knows a chirpy optimist, one of those sunshiny people always telling you to turn your frown upside down and look on the bright side. But spend a while listening to Fareed Zakaria, and it’s hard not to be swept along by this self-described seeker of the bright side. The writer, editor […]
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Web helps Upper Peninsula stores bolster hometown success
No one would mistake Marquette’s Front Street for the Magnificent Mile in Chicago. There’s only so much foot traffic retailers are going to see in this city of 21,000 on the southern shore of Lake Superior. Two Marquette retailers, though, have found ways to thrive both as a “brick and mortar” shop for their hometown […]
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Not much above par on Michigan's scorecard
Gov. Rick Snyder campaigned for the state’s top elected office in 2010 with a promise to “reinvent” Michigan. The Center for Michigan’s 2012 Michigan Scorecard, compiled in partnership with Data Driven Detroit, shows there’s still plenty of reinventing to do. Although Michigan’s economy has performed a U-turn from a decade of job losses, most other […]
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State's exports lift economy as they leave
One of the biggest — and largely unheralded — signs of Michigan’s economic recovery is the state’s impressive jump in exports. The 2012 Michigan Scorecard ranked exporting as “good,” up from “average” in 2010. But the state’s performance in selling Michigan-made goods around the world has improved even more since the 2012 Scorecard data was […]
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Rusty and rutted, infrastructure holds state back
While Michigan’s roads and bridges crumble, lawmakers in Lansing dither. “Our infrastructure is in terrible shape,” said Michael Nystrom, executive vice president of the Michigan Infrastructure & Transportation Association, a trade group. “There is a unanimous recognition of the need among elected officials,” he added. “But no one can really figure out where we go […]
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State takes cautious approach to freight hub proposals
A dizzying number of transportation-related proposals centered on Detroit’s mid-continent location are floating around Michigan. They have funny names (Aerotropolis), links to faraway locales (Halifax, Nova Scotia) and impressive engineering goals (a rail tunnel tall enough to handle double-decker cars). One common thread through most of these proposals is a need for investment. The ideas are […]
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Michigan seeks 'sweet spot' on small businesses
Most new jobs are created by small businesses, right? That’s long been the perception perpetuated by small-business advocates and politicians from the local level on up to the White House. The reality isn’t so neat. While federal statistics show small businesses accounted for 65 percent of all new jobs in the United States between 1993 […]