Search

This article presents an analysis of link of state employment and training and economic development programs in the United States. Effectiveness of state economic development programs is contingent on successful coordination of traditional physical capital and human capital improvement activities. The major stimulant to better linkages has been the growing perception that the movement of physical capital is heavily influenced by the skills and educational levels of the potential workforce. The article focuses on examination of the degree to which states have attempted to link physical and human capital development programs and to explore the correlates of these state efforts. The study explores the political, socioeconomic, and programmatic correlates of state organizational efforts. The results show that states which have forged the closest linkages are those which are confronted by declining economies despite extensive state fiscal incentives in support of the private sector and in which governors have fewer constraints on their powers to impose organizational changes.