Maine's cha-cha-cha | An annual report shows Maine's economy taking a couple of steps forward and several steps back
Maine could do more when it comes to investing in R&D and tackling the high costs of health care and doing business, the Maine Economic Growth Council says in its 2011 Measures of Growth report, released earlier this month.
For 17 years, the council has tracked Maine’s performance in more than 20 indicators, including per capita personal income, state and local tax burden and cost of energy. This year, two indicators received gold stars for progress toward benchmarks: international exports and conservation lands. According to the report, Maine’s exports in 2010 totaled $2.8 billion, a 27.4% jump over 2009. The indicator received a gold star for moving toward the benchmark of exceeding growth of U.S. exports, which increased nearly 16% last year. The state’s 3.5 million acres of conserved land also earned it a gold star, exceeding the benchmark of 1.8 million acres.
But Maine fell short in four areas, each earning a red flag from the council, indicating a need for special attention. R&D expenditures remained at 1% of gross domestic product in 2007, unchanged from 2006 and far from the 3% benchmark set for 2015. The cost of doing business remained above the U.S. average, and the cost of health care in New England grew at a faster rate than personal income in Maine.
The council added two new indicators this year: wellness and prevention, and fourth-grade reading scores. The reading scores earned the fourth red flag for failing to improve since 1994.
Mindy Woerter
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