Chief Economist for ATB Financial and Alberta Economic Development Authority (AEDA) Board Member Todd Hirsch said improvement in areas such as innovation and access to venture capital markets will be important if Alberta is to continue to do well.
Hirsch was in Airdrie to present members of the Airdrie Chamber of Commerce on Sept. 17 with the results of the AEDA report released in May 2014 that shows Alberta ranks well against 70 indicators of competitiveness.
Lorna Hunt, executive director of the Airdrie Chamber of Commerce, said 84 Chamber members and their guests came out to hear Hirsch’s presentation at the Woods Restaurant at Woodside Golf Course.
“It was great to have Todd because he’s been here before,” Hunt said.
“Each time he comes he gets to know the Airdrie business community better. I really appreciated his talk.”
According to Hunt, the AEDA approached the Chamber about having one of their board members come to present the results of the report and she jumped at the chance.
Hirsch said the mandate of AEDA is to be a sounding board for the Provincial government.
It was established in 1994 to advise the premier and members of cabinet about issues involving the economy.
According to the Hirsch, Alberta was compared to 14 other jurisdictions, including British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Oregon, Texas, and Washington State, and Finland, Norway, and the state of Queensland, Australia.
These jurisdictions were chosen because of their similar economies to Alberta’s, similar resource endowments or similar populations, he explained.
Hirsch said the report defines competitiveness as a way for Alberta to achieve sustained prosperity.
“The report is meant to be two things: a measurement and a reporting tool for the Government and industry to see how are we doing compared to our competitors,” Hirsch explained.
The report includes four layers of competitiveness benchmarks arranged in a pyramid that show a picture of Alberta’s ability to produce sustained prosperity. Alberta’s performance in areas such as innovation, productivity, taxes and fiscal policy, and human capital and education was compared to that of the other 14 jurisdictions.
Alberta ranked most favourably in transportation and infrastructure. According to the report, “Alberta rated well for the age of, and investment in, public infrastructure as well as for the penetration of broadband internet. Alberta also fared moderately well for the service provided by its airports.”
Hirsch said he defines innovation as taking an existing technology and combining it with another existing technology in a way that’s both really new and useful, as distinct from invention that creates something brand new.
“Alberta was among the bottom performers on spending for research and development (R& D), ranking 14th out of 14 for its total R& D intensity,” Hirsch said.
“However, Alberta was ranked number two in R& D in spending growth. In other words, although we spend less, that percentage increase in spending on R& D was pretty good. We were in second place but we’re starting from a very low level.”
According to Hirsch, innovation and diversification could go hand-in-hand in Alberta.
Hirsch’s presentation was one of the Chamber’s regular monthly luncheons that cost members $25 per person, according to Hunt.
The AEDA’s Report on Competitiveness is available on their website, www.aeda.alberta.ca
