The Pioneer Institute in Boston has issued a new report about economic-development failures in Massachusetts that, with modest changes, could have been written about the failed policies of many other states. According to the Boston Globe coverage:

The Pioneer study, which analyzed data collected by the business information firm Dun & Bradstreet Inc., found the key driver of employment in the state is the creation of new companies.
In any given year, according to the study, company relocations generated just a fraction of the number of jobs created by start-ups. Companies and jobs are constantly being created and destroyed in the state’s dynamic economy, the study said. The key to overall employment growth is creating more jobs than are destroyed, it said.

Governors, legislators, and local officials continue to be obssesed with the “Big Get” — an announcement that a large, brand-name corporation will locate a plant or even a headquarters in town — and are willing to offer gobs of taxpayer subsidies to make it happen. Meanwhile, they tend to ignore broader public policies, such as reducing marginal tax rates and regulatory burdens, that would foster a culture of entrepreneurship and create more jobs overall, albeit in small clumps that don’t allow for the ribbon-cuttings and publicity stunts that politicians value.

Corporate-welfare programs are about creating headline-grabbing job announcements, not creating jobs. Big difference.