North Dakota is no longer Maine's companion in the bottom third of states, ranked by income.

Massachusetts and North Dakota were the top- ranked states in overall business competitiveness in The Beacon Hill Competitiveness Report, which was issued last week.

Maine ranked 23rd.

The Beacon Hill Report is one of the most comprehensive of national competitiveness reports, tracking some 43 different indicators of competitiveness. Massachusetts and North Dakota achieved these ratings because of their strength in technology, business incubation and human resources.

One can certainly understand Massachusetts being top-ranked.

With the well-known Route 128 technology corridor, strong research universities, and a substantial venture capital community, Massachusetts has a well-deserved reputation as a state that welcomes entrepreneurial business.

The surprise is, once again, North Dakota. I have written in other columns about North Dakota's impressive record in business and economic development over the past 15 years.

North Dakota has half the population of Maine with apparently little going for it in terms of geography and resources. It is cold, remote, and mostly known for the number of abandoned churches in the small communities that dot the state. For many years Maine and North Dakota tracked each other in per-capita income – both states were somewhere toward the top of the bottom third of the 50 states.

In Maine's case, we are still tracking in that group – but not North Dakota. North Dakota has had a steady rise and now ranks in the top 10 in per-capita income in the nation. It is an economic development success story, mostly well hidden.

In recent years, North Dakota has benefitted from oil development in the western part of the state, but its overall record is much more that of a determined, consistent policy of improving the state's competitiveness.

In short, North Dakota has done what Maine aspires to do – with much less to build on. I am not an expert on North Dakota. I simply note their impressive and surprising performance on measures such as the BHI competitiveness index and their surprising economic growth.

If I were a candidate for governor, I would certainly be interested in figuring out whether there are lessons we can learn from North Dakota. As we consider ways to drive economic growth in Maine, we should recognize that Maine is not alone in its aspiration.

There are 49 other states out there, every one interested in how to build their own economies. Many of these are quite different from Maine in their assets and approach to business development.

However, there are other states with similar situations and values that we may well learn from. In fact, in the BHI competitiveness index, at least three other states besides North Dakota in the top 10 have significant similarities to Maine: Oregon, Idaho and Colorado.

In Maine's case, we have significant strengths on which to build an economic growth plan. Our foremost strength is the quality of life here, built on Maine's striking geography, from seacoast to mountains.

In a Feb. 3 column ("Education spending, not tax cuts, best job creator"), Greg Kesich profiled a Maine business, Kepware, which got started because its founder, Corky Ellis, wanted to live in Maine. Kepware has grown from one to 50 employees and was recently recognized as the Maine technology business of the year.

The two largest public companies in Maine, Idexx and Wright Express, have similar stories. Idexx started here because its founder, David Shaw, wanted to live on the coast of Maine. In Wright Express's case its founder, Parker Poole, was already in Maine when he started the company, but its continued growth here in Maine is a reflection of current CEO Mike Dubyak's commitment to Maine's quality of life.

The lesson here is clear: With our proximity to major East Coast metropolitan areas and our quality of life, Maine can be a magnet for professionals and entrepreneurs. This suggests the need for better support networks for entrepreneurs, better undergraduate and graduate education programs and less onerous regulation.

State policy by itself cannot create jobs, but good policy can help create a climate in which business activity is encouraged.

In Maine's case, recent legislative initiatives have tended to add to regulation and mandates. There has not been a light or an enlightened hand on the tiller in Augusta. This must change if we want a state in which there is sufficient opportunity to stem the flow of the 25- to 35-year-old age group leaving the state. Let us learn from the experience of states like North Dakota and apply those lessons to the foundation of Maine's strengths.

We need a good plan. This would be an excellent first step in developing one.