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10 Doing Business in Connecticut | 2015 TOP REASONS › > Continued from page 8 by state, Connecticut ranks third in the country for the percentage of employees with advanced degrees per capita. Nearly half a million Connecticut residents, or 17%, have Master's, professional or doctoral degrees, nearly 50% more than the national average. And because many of those people are affiliated with the university system, "large corporations and nonprofits use Connecticut as a research center for their products and services — everything from pharmaceutical and aerospace companies to medical device and financial services companies," said Smith. "ey know that they are able to find great talent here to lead them into the next generation." In all, 37% of the state's population aged 25 and older has a college degree, compared with 30% nationally. e state ranks fih in the na- tion for the most sci- entists and engineers per capita, and has the third highest percentage of people employed in the finance and insurance industries. e workforce here is also among the most industrious in the nation. According to the 2015 Connecticut Economic Review published by CERC and Eversource, when it comes to Gross Domestic Product, Connecti- cut ranks fourth in the U.S. and fih in the world for productivity — higher than most major countries. According to an April 2013 report by the International Monetary Fund, Connecticut's productivity level is bested only by Luxembourg, Norway, Qatar and Switzer- land. At home, our employee productivity is at an all-time high, with output per worker more than 28% above the national average. Rebecca Nolan, vice president of busi- ness development for the MetroHartford Alliance, the Greater Hartford region's Chamber of Commerce, said companies doing business here "have access to what is probably the most skilled labor force in the country. If you need research or engineers, you have access to talent here that other business areas don't have." Oz Griebel, president and CEO of the Al- liance, said employers also have "proximity to a very robust supplier network, with a critical mass of actuaries serving the insurance industry as just one example. When you look at the talent here, you're not going to be able to replicate it anywhere. at's an important magnet for incoming companies and an asset for compa- nies that are already here." ›Proximity For many companies in the process of deciding where to do businesses, proximity to markets and customers is key. Located between New York and Boston, two of the country's largest economic centers, Connecticut offers the winning combination of strategic geo- graphic advantage and lower operating costs. Within a 200-mile radius of Connecticut, companies have access to roughly one-third of U.S. effective buying income, population, retail sales and manufacturing establishments, and approximately two-thirds of the Cana- dian equivalent. "You can't get those numbers anywhere else," said Nolan. "We are so well situated geographically to be within an 8-hour drive of millions of customers that we can re- ally do a lot more business." From an interna- tional perspec- tive, she added, "European companies can do business with us during their business hours. If they call us in the aernoon, it's morning here, so we're within their work day." Smith agreed. "Closeness to custom- ers, a quick commute to the major financial hubs of New York and Boston, and easy access to Europe and other parts of the world make Connecti- cut an extremely at- tractive and smart place to locate a business." John Shemo, vice president and director of the MetroHartford Alliance, said Connecticut's geographical proximity to New York will only be amplified once the upgraded commuter rail service between New Haven and Springfield, currently under construction, is in place. "e fact that we'll be able to get to New York in the morning and back in the evening more easily — that's a really big deal. We're talking about a connection to the biggest economic engine in the world," he said. As well as the state's public transportation sys- tems, residents have access to Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks (which offers national and interna- tional flights) as well as to several regional airports. "Bradley is widely recognized as an easy airport to deal with, and offers an expanding list of nonstop destinations," Griebel said. "We also have relatively uncongested inter- states running north, south, east and west. Our transportation infrastructure connects people, goods and services to one of the most highly segmented consumer markets in the world." Nolan added, "Connecticut offers a prime location and a lower cost. It's a lot less expensive to run a business here and to live here. And because Connecticut's geography is so small, we have that ability to move from place to place quickly, and to get to the senior leaders who are making key decisions." e compact geog- raphy and transportation infrastructure also makes the Nutmeg state a great place to locate a distribution center, she said. And many companies, from Walgreens to Amazon, have done just that, set- ting up shop on the readily available industrial development land available near Bradley Airport. at area not only offers an extensive amount of open land but the financial incentives provided by ' ey [companies] know that they are able to find great talent here to lead them into the next generation. ' — Catherine Smith, commissioner, DECD