MEDC: The Third Wave    The rhetoric, practices and policies of the MEDC exhibit what Edward Blakeley (2002) defines as the "third wave" of state economic development programs. These programs focus on using regional resources to support growth within selected industry clusters by concentrating on the development of new technology and enhanced skills training for workers.  This site will highlight some of interesting incentives and programs that Michigan offers.

Improving the Business Climate      The MEDC places a strong emphasis on providing prompt, individualized service for businesses. A team of MEDC account managers provides business asssistance services in order to coordinate a client's development needs with existing state resources and incentives. The goal is to retain and expand current firms already in Michigan and attract new ones to the state by providing information on industiries, helping recruit and train employees, offering site selection assistance, financial assistance, andone-stop regulatory permitting.

 Favorable Tax Environment

• tax abatements for creating large number of well-paying jobs
• more than 100 tax-free Renaissance Zones available 
• single business tax, currently at 2.1%, will be phased-out by 2021 
• property tax burden decreased since 1994 when shift to relying on sales tax to pay for schools

Providing Skilled Workers

• Job Training Grants (EDJT)--These are competitive grants.  $31M available each year for creating jobs or upgrading skills through training programs 
• MEDC maintains job bank and funds targeted recruiting campaigns for info tech specialists, engineers and scientists
• Michigan Works! service centers for one-step access to workforce development programs are located throughout the state
• M-TEC (Technical Eduation Centers)--have committed $60M for capital costs to community colleges to establish 16 new technical training centers for high-wage, high-skill occupations
• MVU (Michigan Virtual University) delivers educational job training by distance learning