MO improves ranking in entrepreneurship study

Missouri moved up 12 spots to No. 28 among the 50 states in a recently released study gauging the national entrepreneurial climate.

The State Entrepreneurship Index was published in July by the University of Nebraska Bureau of Business Research. Its first report, released in 2008, ranked Missouri at No. 40, according to a news release from the governor's office.

“This report by the Nebraska Bureau of Business Research study clearly illustrates the significant gains we have made in creating an entrepreneurial environment in Missouri since 2008,” Gov. Jay Nixon said in the release. “Our efforts to create jobs and hold the lines on taxes continue to pay off, not only in recognition from respected national economic groups but also in moving our economy forward.”

The index, which is available online, was ranked based on five components:

• percent growth in employer establishments;
• percent growth in employer establishments per capita;
• business formation rate;
• patents per thousand residents; and
• gross receipts of sole proprietorships and partnerships per capita.

All but three of Missouri's neighboring states ranked higher on the index. Those ranks are:

• Illinois; No. 7;
• Oklahoma, No. 8.
• Kansas, No. 18;
• Nebraska, No. 21;
• Kentucky; No. 24;
• Arkansas, No. 36
• Iowa; No. 38; and
• Tennessee; No. 42.

New York topped the list, trailed by Washington, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Oregon. The lowest-ranked state was South Carolina.

Missouri also recently ranked No. 8 in the Pollina Corporate Top 10 Pro-Business States for 2011, a study examining job retention and creation efforts, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.