anufacturing has long been a staple of the Ohio economy. For many decades, the state has enjoyed plenty of good-paying, but low-tech, industrial jobs. While these types of industries, such as steel manufacturing, remain vital to the state's economy, the manufacturing base is evolving and shrinking. The state lost 78,000 manufacturing jobs during the two-year period ending in December 2002.
        Gov. Bob Taft's Third Frontier program, introduced during his State of the State message in February 2002, is a 10-year, US$1.6-billion effort to push the state toward a knowledge-based economy that generates high-paying, high-tech jobs through expansion of the state's research universities and promotion of start-up companies. Taft has spent considerable time during the last year holding summits around the state to sell the program. The Ohio Senate recently approved a resolution to allow a $500-million bond to be put before voters this November to help fund the effort.
        Taft's ambitious plan comes at a time when a study on the New Economy in the U.S. says the state is lagging. The 2002 State New Economy Index compiled by Washington-based Progressive Policy Institute ranks Ohio 30th. The study ranks Ohio 46th in "job churning," or the rate at which technology-based businesses replace old-line businesses.