Patrick Barkey, executive director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana, said a tie between two states can be influenced by a sweeter tax deal in one state as opposed to another, but tax policies aimed at recruiting businesses are often more effective publicity than actually moving the needle. Most job growth takes place at existing businesses already in the state, he said.
“What they’re trying to do is recruit business and hats off to them,” Barkey said. “But state government has very limited ability to grow the economy, especially in the short term. … I think the big factors in how Montana is going to do in the next year are other things. It’s going to come down to fiscal stimulus, what’s going to happen with interest rates, how labor force shortages are going to be digested. It’s going to come down to these things that are really going to matter for the economy and that’s just the environment we’re in.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has been “a national experience with state flavors,” Barkey added, and no area escaped the downturn last spring, just like every area has enjoyed the recent economic snapback.
The job posting says the state is looking for candidates with executive-level experience in the West Coast, Midwest or Southeast regions of the U.S. These areas have shown trends in site selections and business location decisions that appear compatible with Montana’s options and therefore represent fertile grounds for business attraction efforts, Schafer said.
