Sponsored by The Trent Lott National Center for Excellence in Economic Development and Entrepreneurship

In This Issue

Alumni

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Upcoming Events

Economic Developer's Day at Neshoba County Fair on July 31, 2014. Learn More

2014 SEDC Annual Conference August 3-5, 2014 in Memphis, TN Learn More

True South IEDC Accredited Economic Development Course September 15-18, 2014. Learn More

Job Openings

Economic Development Associate, IEDC (Washington, DC)
The IEDC is looking for a Associate/Senior Associate specializing in Economic Development.

View Position

Program Assistant at the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness in Arlington, VA. View Position

Customer Service Representative

Page and Jones in Jackson, MS is looking for a Customer Service Representative. View Position

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July 21, 2014

New Tourism Faculty Brings Expertise on Air Transportation

Dr. Wei Wang is a new hospitality and tourism management faculty who will be joining the department this fall. Her research areas are

tourism management, tourism marketing, entrepreneurship, and service management.

She brings valuable expertise on air transportation and economic impact analysis and worked for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Air Canada before doing her graduate work. Dr. Wang has numerous publications including "Public's Anxiety Toward Television Report on Airplane Accidents" and "Perceived Onboard Service Needs of Passengers with Mobility Limitations: An Investigation Among Flight Attendants." She also has sponsored research experience including a study of the economic impact in Monroe County, Indiana of the Monroe County Convention and Visitors Bureau and a study of ways to improve airport services for passengers with mobility limitations. Her dissertation research was on air travelers' innovativeness.

Dr. Wang has a PhD from Indiana University, Bloomington in Tourism Management, a MS in Tourism Management from Indiana University, Bloomington, and a BA in Aviation English from the Civil Aviation University of China, Tianjin.

MEDC Summer Conference "Rising to the Top"

MSED faculty, Dr. Chad Miller, moderated a panel at the Mississippi Economic Development Council (MEDC) summer conference in Biloxi. The panel titled, "Capitalizing on Mississippi Ports" featured Jonathan Daniels from the Port of Gulfport, Greg Deakle from the Port of Itawamba, and Robert Maxwell from the Port of Rosedale. They discussed how to better leverage ports for economic development and highlighted that ports are an important component of the economic development theme.

The primary focus of the conference featured recommendations from a competitiveness study recently conducted by Deloitte Consulting, LLP. The report compared Mississippi's competitiveness to other southeastern states with regard to workforce development, tax incentives, and community preparedness in attracting economic development projects. Governor Bryant closed the conference with a call to action to bond together in unity in supportive economic development in the state. He announced his strategic initiative for next fiscal year focused on maximizing MIssissippi's transportation infrastructure.

Brookings Study Finds That FDI is Not a Net Source of Direct Job Creation in the US

A new report from the Brookings Institute FDI in U.S. Metro Areas: The Geography of Jobs in Foreign-Owned Establishments examines foreign direct investment (FDI), which is U.S operations of foreign companies in the U.S. According to the study, foreign-owned U.S. affiliates directly employ some 5.6 million workers spread across every sector of the economy. The number and share of U.S. workers employed in foreign-owned establishments (FOEs) increased steadily through the 1990s before peaking in 2000 and then stagnating.

Mergers and acquisitions-not establishment openings-drive changes in the number of jobs in FOEs over time. Increases in the number of jobs supported by FDI in the average year reflect net transfers of jobs into foreign ownership through M&As, not new jobs created in FOEs. The data analysis suggests that FDI itself is not a net source of direct job creation. Despite high profile FDI such as Toyota and Yokohoma, Mississippi ranks number 38 of the 50 states for FDI with 27,790 employed by foreign-owned establishments which makes up 3.1% of the state's private sector employment. The top 5 industries in the state for FDI are electrical equipment, general purpose machinery, electrical lighting equipment, investigation & security, and motor vehicle parts. With Germany, Switzerland, Japan, England, and the Netherland being the top source countries.

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Hattiesburg, MS 39401-0001