Creating Scandals Instead of Jobs: The Failures of Privatized State Economic Development Agencies

Greg LeRoy, Thomas Cafcas, Leigh McIlvaine, Kasia Tarczynska and Philip Mattera
In recent years, many states have privatized the functions of their economic development agencies, creating public-private partnerships (PPP) with international consulting firms with the espoused goal that this would increase their ability to attract business and create jobs. In a new report, Good Jobs First reviews these partnerships in Arizona, Florida, Wisconsin, and other states, finding that they hasten the consolidation of corporate power and reduce small businesses’ influence and in local economies. Reporting repeated instances of excessive bonuses to executives, exaggerated claims of job creation, conflicts of interest, opacity in use of public funds, and abuse of executive power, the authors call for restructuring of state economic development agencies as an alternative to privatization.

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