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Section 2: Indiana’s Economic Climate
The second section of the questionnaire is a single question which deals with the economic and general business climate of the state. The question (Q7) simply asked about the areas in which Indiana has a relative advantage or relative disadvantage compared to neighboring states (see Figure 8). There are no significant differences between 2009 and 2010 results; however trends are on the rise.
As in the previous three years, most of the areas of comparison cluster near the middle of the scale. Also, as in previous years, Indiana is perceived to have a major advantage over other states with regard to "cost of living," and a slight disadvantage with regard to the "education system."
"Cost of living" is still perceived to be a solid advantage for Indiana relative to other states. Though "cost of living" is not statistically higher than in previous years, it has been nominally on the rise for all four years the survey has been conducted.
One question remains: are the increasing scale numbers the result of perceived improvement on the part of Indiana, or are they the result of a relative decline on the part of surrounding states? It could be that CEOs think Indiana is making strides faster than our neighbors or that CEOs think the current situation is having a more pronounced negative impact on our neighbors.
Trends to these areas can be seen in Figure 9a and Figure 9b.
"Economic incentives for business," "innovation," "cost of living," and "overall business environment" are perceived as better advantages than they were in 2007.
