Crime, education and technology: a new study says that's the Achilles heel for Louisiana, ranking the state 49th in the country. And that ranking is negatively affecting the state's economic growth. But some local experts say change is on the way.

The recent ranking of 49th in the country in attracting and retaining businesses to Louisiana to help economic growth doesn't help Kurt Weigle. As president of the Downtown Development District, his job is to bring business in, and keep it here.

"We know we're not starting at the top. That's not news to anybody," said Weigle.

The Beacon Hill Institute's Eighth Annual Competitiveness Report points to high crime and murder rates, a poor public education system and a lack of high technology companies and the workforce to support them, for the state's poor showing.

When companies are looking for a place to locate, particularly larger companies they have at least two major factors in mind," said Dr. Bill Locander, dean of the College of Business at Loyola University. "One is economics, the business model. Do I get good tax breaks? And if they want to grow, can I get the infrastructure I need?"

Louisiana ranks well in tax policies, but experts say it does not override what has been perceived as poor quality of life indicators.

"The company starts looking at, where am I bringing my employees? Can I attract talent in from other parts of the country to feed the engine of economic growth? And if they have trouble getting people to move there, that really downgrades Louisiana and New Orleans," said Locander.

But economists and business growth experts say there are recent improvements the study ignores, and other factors the report does not consider, that paints a much brighter picture for the city and the state.

"Now we have very real signs of progress. Test scores that really have improved. They have only improved for one or two years, but they have improved in schools. We've also seen a very measurable influx of young creative people who are building new companies, new ideas in New Orleans," Weigle said.

Perhaps the biggest boost to come: the $2 billion dollars in new hospital construction which will be the basis of a new bio-science industry.

"LSU and Tulane already do $160 million in NIH funding alone yearly," said Weigle. "The hospitals allow us to take it to the next step and create business and wealth for the community built upon that research."

 The Beacon Hill Institute is the research arm of the Department of Economics at Suffolk University in Boston. They look 43 indicators to determine advantages and disadvantages for each state.