ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses seven economic strategies. The first strategy is to improve the general economic or business climate of the state. A second strategy is to strengthen the process of economic development. A third strategy is to provide the support appropriate to the variable life-cycle needs of the firm. A fourth strategy is to tailor economic programs to the needs of different-sized firms. A fifth strategy is to strengthen the competitive advantage of the state in the global economy. A sixth strategy is to identify and promote those industries, firms, or technologies that are thought most likely to offer growth in the future. A seventh strategy is to foster synergistic relationships among interdependent but isolated economic resources. New institutions have been developed in the first instance to formulate strategy. States have found that they need a far more sophisticated diagnostic capability to understand state, regional, national, and global economic dynamics and the potential, limits, and actual performance of state programs.
