Economic theories come in all shapes and sizes. They are subjective, by nature – each having its share of believers and disbelievers. In Rhode Island, the theory or concept of a “regional economy,” in which Rhode Island is part of a Boston-Metro subdivision that is part of a bigger region, that is part of the world – is being embraced in some corners.
And why not?
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Under such a theory, Rhode Island has available to it the resources of an entire region. Not only can we offer the expertise and research of Brown University, for example, but Harvard, as well.
Not only do we have Providence College, but Boston College, too. Why simply trumpet the resources of the University of Rhode Island and not the University of Massachusetts or Boston University, which aren’t much farther from Providence.
Under a regional economy approach, Rhode Island has much to gain.
If, for example, the state doesn’t have the critical mass to support a thriving high technology community on its own, why not bring Route 128 in Boston – “America’s Technology Highway” — into the mix?
It makes perfect sense in Rhode Island.
“The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is as much a resource for Rhode Island as it is for Boston,” Christopher Bergstrom, executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council, told the Providence Business News this fall. “But it also works both ways. Rhode Island School of Design is as much a Boston resource.”
But what do they think in Boston? Is there a spirit of cooperation, of concern for the well being for the neighbor to the north?
Jack Rennie, vice chairman of the Burlington-based Averstar, Inc., a software developer, looks to his south and sees a Providence market with much potential. Boston, he points out, has some very distinct and deeply rooted advantages – advantages not easily found in the United States.
“There is a symbiosis that goes on in the Greater Boston area, like it does in San Francisco,” he said. “There are reasons for that.”
Rennie said a city or region needs three elements to foster a healthy high technology community.
“You need a group of colleges and universities that have a history of interfacing with the local business community,” he said. “You also need an active financial community – with venture capital – that keeps businesses going and growing.”
And, said Rennie, you need an existing entrepreneurial drive.
“Boston has all three of these things – at a strong level,” he said.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, he said, have long had a tendency to get involved with the business community. Rennie sees many of the same qualities in Rhode Island. Rennie points out that the Ocean State enjoys a distinguished college and university community of its own. A major company like Textron, he said, offers a base of strength.
“You are not without your power base,” he said.
Stephen Mulloney, manager of government relations and communications for the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council agrees that the Boston/Cambridge area is steeped in biotechnology advantages.
“Cambridge and Boston continue to grow because MIT and Harvard guys like to fall out of their classrooms and into their labs,” he said. A lot of it starts here.”
Mulloney too, embraces the concept of a regional economy. He agrees that the world is getting smaller. He sees Rhode Island as being in an enviable position – close enough to tap into Boston, and yet possessing much on its own.
“Rhode Island can certainly participate and flourish as part of a regional economy, and there is no reason it can’t have a foothold of its own,” Mulloney said.
Rhode Island, with a high technology foothold of its own? Mulloney thinks it’s possible.
“You have a well educated, well trained workforce,” he said. “You have academic institutions that spin off their own companies. You have teaching hospitals, which are critically important. Ninety-nine of our products come out of teaching hospitals and labs.”
There is precedence for establishing such a foothold, Mulloney said.
“Worcester has done an excellent job establishing itself as Massachusetts’ second biotechnology center,” he said.
The idea of a regional economy is not new. Bergstrom said its roots go back to the post-World War II era. The interstate highway system and suburbanization of America have fostered it, he said. There are other elements deeply rooted in New England, that come into play as states begin this dance of economic cooperation.
Rennie understands there being some sense of trepidation, whether it is Rhode Island feeling a bit insecure, or Boston being slow to embrace Rhode Island resources. That, he said, is part of New England’s culture.
“The Western Massachusetts people feel estranged from Eastern Massachusetts people,” said Rennie. “If we were all in the middle of Iowa, it would seem that we were right next to one another.”
