Pollina Top 10 Pro-Business Study Depicts Surge of Influence in Western States with Decrease in South and Free Fall in North

CHICAGO—(August 15, 2011)—"The West is America's new heartland, and it is increasingly a dominant region of population growth and political influence," says economist and corporate relocation expert Dr. Ronald R. Pollina in the just-released Pollina Corporate Top 10 Pro-Business States for 2011: The Rise of the West.

In the annual study of job retention and creation by the 50 states and the federal government, Dr. Pollina, author of the recent book entitled Selling Out a Superpower, emphasizes that the "West is not only a leader in population growth but has also become the pro-business leader, thus showing the greatest potential for job growth."

But Virginia—the brightest star on the American Flag—is the ultimate model for the rest of the country. Brent Pollina, Vice President of Park Ridge, Illinois-based Pollina Corporate Real Estate (www.pollina.com) and author of the study, names Virginia as "America's most pro-business state" for the third consecutive year, winning yet again by the largest margin in the study's history.

"Virginia can certainly be emulated by other states, which should view Virginia's economic policies as a coloring book," says Brent Pollina. "All they need to do is stay between the lines of the coloring book, and they, too, can create a powerful pro-business environment."

This year's Most Improved State, North Dakota, climbed from 18th to 3rd place in only three years, and it's one of seven powerhouse Western states in the Top 10. Unfortunately for the region, California ranked dead last for the eighth consecutive year.

The Pollina Corporate Top 10 Pro-Business States for 2011 are: 1) Virginia 2) Utah 3) North Dakota 4) Wyoming 5) Nebraska 6) Kansas 7) South Dakota 8) Missouri 9) South Carolina and 10) Indiana. The study, considered the most comprehensive, unbiased and unvarnished by the economic development industry, is the "Gold Standard" for evaluating and ranking states based on 32 factors controlled by state government, including taxes, human resources, education, right-to-work legislation, energy costs, infrastructure spending, workers compensation laws, economic incentive programs and state economic development efforts.

Two new factors—state budget deficit and state property tax index—along with a comprehensive State Report Card have been added to this year's study.

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