Do the Area Economic Development Ratings Really Help?

Many folks in Portland, Oregon are beginning to wonder whether all the ratings their city and region receive are "over-rated." Do they really help a city or region understand its competitive position or what it needs to do to improve in the future?

I think this is a fair critique. Places receiving favor ratings for their business climate, quality of life, etc. tout them. Those receiving unfavorable ones either work to discredit them or ignore them.

From a purely research standpoint, there is much room for improvement in how many business and economic climate ratings are undertaken. And as one Portland official notes, many of these ratings are done by people who have no idea what the places being rated are REALLY like.

Will this deter the raters from rating? Probably not, but maybe they will pay closer attention to how they undertake these studies in the future. Hopefully so. I find most to be of only marginal utility in judging an area's readiness or success for economic development. One thing is for sure--the media likes to write about them and talk about them.

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