Report: Region should boost private economy, global competitiveness

WASHINGTON — The Washington area has long relied on Uncle Sam for much
of its livelihood, but a study from George Mason University’s Center for
Regional Analysis says the time has come for the area to boost its regional
private economy and global competitiveness.

“The federal government is not as big as it used to be,” says David Versel,
co-author of the center’s 90-page report, “Improving the Washington Region’s
Global Competitiveness.”

The report cites a 16 percent decline in federal contracting in the region
from 2010 to 2013.

“Since 2010 we’ve lost about 22,000 federal jobs and about $14 billion
dollars in federal contracting activity,” Versel says. “We need to find ways
to make up for those losses.”

The report recommends that D.C., Maryland and Virginia join hands in a
regional effort to attract business and investment. But history shows the
jurisdictions knock heads when trying to lure dollars.

“We don’t work together at the regional level, D.C., Maryland and Virginia are
in competition with each other for economic development,” Versel says.

To become globally competitive, the report concludes that the headbanging
must stop.

“The very first thing that we can and ought to do is to think of ourselves as
one region, that if the whole region prospers each jurisdiction will get to
enjoy the fruits of that,” Versel says.

In the years ahead, Versel foresees the D.C. regional economy increasingly
competing with the economies of places including Seattle, Silicon Valley and
Charlotte, N.C.

But he says the D.C. area has several striking advantages, with its people at
the top of the list.

“We have human capital like no one else does … almost
half of our adult population has a bachelor’s degree or higher,” Versel says.

Of course, there are challenges to overcome in attracting business and
investment.

One of them would be no surprise to commuters: “infrastructure, specifically transportation. … We have legendarily bad traffic,” Versel says.

The report says that, because of historic rivalries between local and state
governments, the private sector must likely take the lead in developing
regional cooperation to boost the area’s global competitiveness.

Click here to read the full report.

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