What Dallas Should Learn From Being Beaten by Provo and Raleigh in a Business Ranking

Full-speed job growth, rapid population increases and expansion in the Dallas area’s ballooning base of corporate employers powered the region to a top spot in a new ranking of 200 American metros based on their economic performance last year.The Dallas-Plano-Irving metro area ranked third in the Milken Institute’s 2017 “Best-Performing Cities” report, up from the fifth spot in 2016.“Dallas has been on a trajectory upward in our ranking for several years,” said Minoli Ratnatunga, director of regional economics for the Milken Institute and one of the report’s authors. “We attribute that to the broad economic base and growth across a variety of industries.”But if North Texas wants to keep climbing, Dallas-area policymakers can learn from what the California-based nonpartisan think tank says gave the two leading cities an edge.Although smaller, both the Provo-Orem area in Utah and Raleigh, N.C. -- ranked first and second, respectively -- are communities anchored by strong research institutions churning out innovative young workers.  Continue reading...