Denver Business Journal (CO), August 19, 2009*

Colorado ranks 11th best among the states in an evaluation of economic performance by the Pacific Research Institute, a free-market think tank.

The report, issued Tuesday, rates the states using a variety of yardsticks, including gross domestic product, disposable income, private-sector job growth, the poverty and unemployment rates, and in- or out-migration.

By category, Colorado ranks highest — 10th among the states — in “entrepreneurship,” defined as the creation of new businesses. The report cites a net 1.5 percent increase of businesses in the state over a five-year span.

Colorado ranks 17th in in-migration, 18th in labor categories and 28th in income.

Nevada has the best economic performance of any state, the report says, followed by Idaho, Arizona, Utah and Wyoming.

Michigan is rated as having the worst performance, with Ohio, Mississippi, Illinois and Massachusetts joining it at the bottom of the list.

The study, written by PRI’s Jason Clemens and Robert Murphy, uses data covering a five-year period — usually 2004-2008, depending on the category, but sometimes earlier.

San Francisco-based PRI describes itself as a nonprofit group “advocating for personal responsibility and individual liberty in national and state issues.”

The report is primarily aimed at assessing what PRI considers the “economic sickness” of its headquarters state, California.

Click here to access PRI’s summary of its report and to download the report in PDF format.

mharden@bizjournals.com

*Note: This article also appeared in the following publications:

Business First (Louisville, KY), August 20, 2009
Charlotte Business Journal (Charlotte, NC), August 19, 2009
Silicon Valley/ San Jose Business Journal (San Jose, CA), August 19, 2009
Birmingham Business Journal (Birmingham, AL), August 19, 2009
Pittsburgh Business Journal (Pittsburgh, PA), August 19, 2009
Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal (Minneapolis, MN), August 19, 2009
Dayton Business Journal (Dayton, OH), August 19, 2009
Tampa Bay Business Journal (Tampa, FL), August 19, 2009
Kansas City Business Journal (Kansas City, MO), August 19, 2009
Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle, WA), August 19, 2009
Austin Business Journal (Austin, TX), August 19, 2009
Triad Business Journal (Greensboro, NC), August 19, 2009
Jacksonville Business Journal (Jacksonville Business Journal, FL), August 19, 2009
Baltimore Business Journal (Baltimore, MD), August 19, 2009
Orlando Business Journal (Orlando, FL), August 19, 2009
Milwaukee Business Journal (Milwaukee, WI), August 19, 2009
San Antonio Business Journal (San Antonio, TX), August 19, 2009
San Francisco Business Times (San Francisco, CA), August 19, 2009
Memphis Business Journal (Memphis, TN), August 19, 2009
Buffalo Business First (Buffalo, NY), August 19, 2009