NEW JERSEY JUMPS HIGHER IN SURVEY OF BUSINESS FRIENDLY STATES
By Aaron Moselle/WHYY Newsworks
August 23, 2011
A new study ranks New Jersey as one of the nation’s most friendly states for opening a new business.
The study out of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln measures how viable entrepreneurship is in a given state when compared to its counterparts.
After considering factors like business innovation and new business growth, New Jersey ranks fourth. The Garden State ranked 12th the last time the study was done.
Associate Professor Eric Thompson, who authored the study, explains the positive jump. “New Jersey benefited because its entrepreneurial community, in a relative sense, was better able to withstand the recession than entrepreneurs in some other parts of the country so that net business growth could remain modest even though the economy went through such a difficult period between 2008 and 2010,” he said.
Phil Kirschner of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association attributes New Jersey’s turnaround to the economic-policies of Republican Governor Chris Christie.
Thompson adds the Northeast corridor fared well overall because of its ability to garner investment.
Delaware is ranked 14th on the State Entrepreneurship Index; Pennsylvania 20th.
