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AEA Plans Adjustments To Cyberstates Rankings
The American Electronics Association is taking steps to provide more accurate data to better reflect the impact of the high-tech industry on state economic indicators such as employment, wages and exports.
The group issues an annual "cyberstates" report that culls its data from the Labor Department, which draws its numbers from the Office of Management and Budget. Both government agencies are switching to a new method of classifying economic data, known as the North American Industrial Classification system (NAICs).
Since the study began four years ago, it has relied upon the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code, which was updated in 1987, when many of today's new economy industries did not exist. For example, using the SIC classification, an Internet service provider is counted in the "other" category along with a hodge-podge of businesses, while the NAICs system will allow it to be tagged more appropriately in the newly-created "information" company category.
"The information category is going to be of critical importance to [the high-tech] industry," said Michaela Platzer, AEA's vice president of research. "We're really not able to drill down with any precision in terms of those numbers with the current SICs."
The prime objective of the first report issued in 1997 was to quantify how important the high-tech industry is to the U.S. economy.
"This data is very important from a policy point of view," she said. "When talking to a Congress member, it helps to understand how important their state is to the high-tech economy."
Several AEA representatives were speaking with Texas Gov. George W. Bush, R, four years ago when the inaugural Cyberstates report was released, and asked him to identify the state's largest industry in terms of employment. His response, according to Platzer, was "oil and gas." But in fact, the high-tech industry was the correct answer.
"Traditional lobbyists in Texas are from the oil and gas industry so the governor hears from them all of the time," Platzer said. "But now it's accepted that the high-tech industry is a factor."
With the high-tech industry fueling the nation's economic growth, touting a state's tech prowess has certain public relations benefits, according to Platzer. Michigan has been pushing the association to broaden its data criteria to include the auto industry because "they want to be perceived as a technology state," Platzer said.
While the current study does include some parts of the auto industry, if AEA broadened its definition, Michigan would rise in the rankings. Currently, the data ranks Michigan as 17th over all in the country.
"But if we included the entire auto industry, we'd have to include the entire aerospace and banking industries," she said, adding that the report's goal is not to act as a cheerleader for the high-tech industry, but to remain objective.
By about 2002, when AEA hopes to use the new NAIC system to calculate the data, some states rankings could appear different than under the current SIC code, Platzer acknowledged. A similar jostling in the states rankings happened when the SIC code was updated in 1987.
"Ultimately, it's a better system, but it's not perfect," she said.
AEA used data from 1998 in its report released this month, "Cyberstates 4.0: A State by State Overview of the High-Technology Industry." Those numbers illustrate the difficulty statisticians have with keeping up with the fast-moving high-tech industry.
"A big frustration for us is that so many people, including lawmakers, want to better understand the tech industry, but we don't have the best tools available in government agencies for data collection," Platzer said.
"Unless more funding is given to data collection, statistical agencies, we're always going to have a year or two lag time."
Wyden Studies Impact of Digital Divide On Oregon Seniors
Senior citizens lack basic information technology, according to a survey released this week by the office of Sen. Ron Wyden, D-OR.
Wyden's staff contacted administrators at senior centers across Oregon to inquire about their computer and online facilities. In his survey, "Oregon Seniors and the Digital Divide: A Survey of Senior Centers' Internet Access in the New Millennium," Wyden found that elderly Oregonians who depend on senior centers for computer and online resources are often deprived of key tools. Fifty-two percent of Oregon centers surveyed lacked resident-accessible computers, and 70 percent of all respondents were without access to the Internet. The study also found that many urban centers have "appallingly few" high-tech facilities. For example, the Gresham Senior Center, serving approximately 750 seniors just outside of Portland, has no computers.
Wyden is working on legislation that would help wire senior centers through a program loosely modeled on the e-rate, which has helped disadvantaged schools tap into the Internet. Wyden's proposal would create an "s-rate" to provide low cost Internet connections to low income or rural senior centers. In the proposal, Wyden says funds also could be used to purchase computers.
Wyden serves on the Senate Special Committee on Aging, and the Senate Commerce Committee.
Nurturing Entrepreneurs In The New Economy
The National Governors' Association released a report this month titled "Nurturing Entrepreneurial Growth In State Economies." The report, unveiled by NGA Chairman Utah Gov. Michael Leavitt, R, examines the differences that distinguish entrepreneurs from their small business counterparts and makes recommendations to policymakers on strategies for encouraging entrepreneurial growth.
The report is the latest in a series of NGA papers addressing the new economy. To help spur this type of growth, Leavitt is asking states to submit applications to participate in an 18-month policy academy. The academy, through an advisory committee comprised of state officials, non-profits and the U.S. Small Business Association, will provide select states with technical assistance in developing entrepreneurial initiatives. "Helping governors succeed in the new economy is a top priority at NGA," said John Thomasian, director of NGA's Center for Best Practices.
Event Highlights
The United States Conference of Mayors and the Economic Development Administration of the Commerce Department are hosting a forum on e-commerce and the digital divide in Albuquerque, NM, this week.
Virginia's Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce will host a breakfast seminar on "Work Force Development: Recruitment and Retention Strategies," June 7, 8-9:30 a.m. in Reston, VA. NASIRE also has been busy addressing one of the tech-industry's hottest issues with a new report " Recruitment and Retention of Technical Employees in State Government.
The National Conference on State Legislatures' Communications and Information Policy committee will meet at the group's annual meeting in Chicago July 16-20. The committee is scheduled to hold programs on virtual government, digital divide, telecommunications and how to cast a balance between selling state public records and protecting citizens' privacy, and of course, how to handle taxes online.
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