MANUFACTURING STUDY A few myths

MYTHS:
A study by Cleveland State University says myths adversely affect how state and local governments make economic development decisions.
Myth: Ohio is a state where productivity is lagging because of its historical reliance on manufacturing.
Reality: Ohio has experienced growth in productivity primarily because of manufacturing. Manufacturing productivity, as measured by the value of goods and services produced per job, was $78,400, compared with $46,700 in the nonmanufacturing sector. Each manufacturing job was $31,700 more productive than each nonmanufacturing job. This is a big increase from 1977, when the gap was $23,600.
Myth: Ohio is a state lacking in high-technology workplaces.
Reality: Ohio is home to an unusually large number of moderately technology-intense manufacturing industries. It is not home for many very technology intense industries, with the exception of the basic chemicals industry. Ohio's major metropolitan areas are near the average for all large metropolitan areas in the nation.
Myth: Ohio is a state that has not participated in the new economy.
Reality: Ohio is not a state where fundamental technologies, especially information technologies, are shaped. Ohio is the place where new information and computer technologies are applied to the real world of goods and services production, resulting in important innovations in production processes.
Myth: The tax burden in manufacturing is similar to all industries in Ohio.
Reality: The structure of business taxation in Ohio hurts capital formation, which in turns holds back increases in productivity. That ends up hurting income growth in the state. Here are the tax rates in 1998 per $1,000 of goods and services produced: manufacturing, $4.42; wholesale trade, $3.45; services, $1.63; and finance, insurance and real estate, $1.42.