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COPYRIGHT 2001 The Dallas Morning News
Feb. 25--Perhaps Texas harbors its own special genetic code.
That would explain the state's ability to spawn new businesses, fuel economic growth and sidestep the brunt of the latest economic downturn -- all while shifting gears from an economy rooted in the land to one born of the mind.
"We have the capacity to incubate new industries as part of our regional DNA," said Donald Hicks, professor of political economy and public policy at the University of Texas at Dallas. "It's a long-term asset for us."
Hold off on the genome-mapping project, countered Gary Preuss, an economist in the Texas comptroller's office.
He offered a more down-to-earth explanation for the state's resilience: No income tax, a low-cost business base and a strategic geographic location -- one that puts Texas at the crossroads of the booming West and South, as well as next door to growing Mexico.
"I would like to think it's an entrepreneurial spirit, that we really have got something here that's special and that the rest of the country doesn't have," he said. "It's actually probably not true."
Such divergent views were not uncommon during a roundtable discussion on the state's economy by The Dallas Morning News Board of Economists.
Overall, though, the panel's seven members agreed that Texas will continue to hum along, even if a bit off key this year. In addition to its regional attributes, they said, the state benefits from...
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