Excerpt: By Dennis J. Donovan, originally featured in The Gold Guide
Business climate—the aggregate of policies put in place by state or local governments that will affect the operation of private enterprises—is critical. Understanding a place’s business climate is essential and the stakes are high. The economic success of new and expanding enterprises is impacted by a community’s business climate and by a community’s ability to recruit and attract new businesses.
But policymakers are often at a loss as to how to gauge or measure an area’s business climate. Forecasting future business and economic trends in a region, let alone the actions of state and local governments, is hardly an exact science.
One useful method of assessing an area’s business climate is that of site selection consultants and corporate real estate executives. Understanding how those responsible for relocating business assets approach their work can help inform the work of state and local officials. Their approach, though painstaking and systematic, can reduce risk and produce meaningful results.
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