Economic Development in the Adirondack Park

            The recent trend of populations shifting towards cities and the decline of investment capital available to rural businesses have contributed to unemployment rates in some parts of the Adirondack Park that are nearly twice the national average (NY State Department of Labor). One of the main organizations that aims to minimize this problem and encourage economic development in the Adirondack region (as well as other regions in the state) is the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), which serves as New York State’s chief economic development agency and runs over 50 economic development programs throughout the state through over 200 subsidiary corporations and other entities (Mann). 

            A recent report released by the New York State Comptroller’s Office expressed some concerns about the current state of ESDC. While the large scope of ESDC allows some synergies such as increased administrative efficiency, it also creates an issue of transparency. The Comptroller’s report argues that ESDC needs to report and compile more detailed results for each of their programs so internal decision makers (the ESDC Board of Directors and managers) and external decision makers (legislators and voters) can effectively weigh the costs and benefits of each individual program to determining its efficacy.
            For 2013, ESDC spent $1.1 billion on economic development programs, and reported that these programs created 2,424 jobs (1.8% of net private-sector job creation in the state in 2013) (DiNapoli). While this figure seems reflective of the agency’s overall performance, the lack of clarity about the breakdown of jobs created by individual initiatives makes it extremely difficult to measure their true performance. This lack of detail and clarity hinders internal management's ability to determine which programs are worth growing, altering, or discontinuing. The lack of transparency is also troublesome to legislators and voters who are charged with determining the efficacy of the agency as a whole in order to vote on the resources devoted to it. Without the specific breakdown of results for each program, legislators and voters may come to the wrong conclusion about the agency's performance and vote to over- or under-fund the programs, which would ultimately hurt the people the agency strives to help.
           While I read ESDC's report, I looked for evidence of their efficacy in the Adirondack region, and noticed some startling statistics that suggest the agency's efforts are even more futile in the Adirondack Region. As supported by the figure below, less than 6% of the total companies/organizations assisted by ESDC in 2013 were located in the North Country and zero jobs were created in the North Country as a result of these initiatives (DiNapoli). 

Though North Country residents are contributing to the funds used to run the agency through state taxes, they are not receiving any of the benefits of ESDC’s efforts. If ESDC increases the transparency of their reporting and really digs into the specific implications of each of their programs, I hope they will notice this discrepancy and redirect funding from their failed initiatives towards new programs to help meet the needs of the people in the Adirondack region.

Update 4/26/15: Thank you to M.E. from the Hamilton College Writing Center for your thoughtful feedback and suggestions to improve this post.

Works Cited:

DiNapoli, Thomas P. Public Authorities by the Numbers: Empire State Development Corporation. Rep. Albany: Office of the State Comptroller, 2015. Print.

Mann, Brian. "Are the North Country's Economic Development Gurus Actually Boosting Jobs?" North Country Public Radio. Saranac Lake, NY, 15 Apr. 2015. Are the North Country's Economic Development Gurus Actually Boosting Jobs?Web. 18 Apr. 2015.

New York State Department of Labor. Unemployment Rates by County, New York State, February 2015. N.p., 31 Mar. 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2015.