The success of economic zones may not be guaranteed, but there are certain instances where such zones thrived against all odds. One such example is the Research Triangle Park, located in the state of North Carolina, USA. The Research Triangle Park, or RTP, is one of the best examples where government, academia and industry collaborated together to create a research center that soon turned into a center of excellence.
The RTP is surrounded by 3 world-renowned research universities - Duke University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University. It is built on 7000 acres of land and has around forty thousand individuals working in more than 200 research centers. It has also become a great place to live, according to this Forbes article, which attracts more people to move to the region. The RTP has been so successful that the government of the state of North Carolina is creating some more research parks following the RTP model. One such center is near Charlotte and is called the North Carolina Research Campus.
One of the prime reasons why the RTP has flourished is that academia, industry and the public sector worked together in unison to make the Park successful. The universities taught courses and majors that the industrial sector demanded and employed, and the public sector provided the land and the necessary infrastructure for the research centers to set up. As more industries were attracted to the region because of the availability of skilled workforce and business-friendly environment, the youth in that area were also encouraged to pursue higher education.
Another important aspect about RTP is that is houses hi-tech research centers that requires skilled workforce. Labor-intensive manufacturing industries are not present in the area. To remain competitive, the region needs to continue to produce a skilled workforce. With a large number of renowned universities all round North Carolina, that may not be a problem in the foreseeable future. Another reason why the Park is flourishing is because it focuses on hi-tech research, something that we need now and in the future.
The success of such an economic zone shows the importance to have educational centers that produce skilled workforce.Simply providing tax incentives and subsidized land is not enough. Actually, North Carolina is an example where the prevalence of high state income taxes do not deter companies from moving to RTP, or encourage them to exit. This is because the benefits of the availability of skilled workforce outweighs the cost of tax. Therefore, if governments want to create successful economic zones, they should consider setting up universities/technical colleges/training institutes near those zones, that produce workforce the zone needs. This can increase the changes of success of an economic zones.
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