Kentucky

From the Lexington Herald-Leader:

Two University of Kentucky researchers will produce a study by year's end that tries to measure the effectiveness of Kentucky's expensive job-creation programs.

The $75,000 report, commissioned this year by the Cabinet for Economic Development's board of directors, will come one year after the Lexington Herald-Leader ran a series of articles scrutinizing the Cabinet's business incentive programs. The Cabinet has spent more than $1.2 billion recruiting jobs over the past 25 years.

The newspaper found that the Cabinet has done little to gauge the effectiveness of its incentives, is more secretive than counterparts in many other states and sometimes loosely monitors its programs.

"We are confident that the study will find that the current programs are effective in attracting new business, and in retaining and expanding existing business," Cabinet for Economic Development Secretary Gene Strong said Friday in a written statement. "However, it is important to routinely evaluate the economic development tools in our toolbox and to stay on the cutting edge by making changes if there are better ways to achieve our goals."

As long staying on the cutting edge means maintaining a monopoly on the granting of state tax breaks and incentives, I'm sure Mr. Strong will be satisfied with the findings of its funded report.