Michigan: The High-Technology Automotive State

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There is no fixed “official” definition for the concept of high tech. At different times various organizations and individuals have issued such labels as the “new category,” “information age,” “Internet economy,” “dot.com economy,” “web economy,” “silicon states,” or cyber-states,” and so on. Different categorizations of firms, industries, states, and regions in the United States as high technology or not have been published. Despite the recent decline in the electronics and telecommunications segments of high tech, the mystique of the high tech idea is undiminished. Public officials and economic development authorities continue to show great concern about the ranking of their state or community in terms of advanced economic activity. Presumably this concern is fueled by a growing belief that the economy is fundamentally changing in many important structural parameters. It also reflects a widely held belief that all industries, including the “newest,” agglomerate their activities in geographic regions. Since the fastest-growing new industries are presumably still deciding where to locate their operations, it is thought critical to advertise the business suitability of a region and put in the best possible light the region’s potential in terms of employees costs, markets, and infrastructure.

This report was prepared for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.