Costs taxpayers $6.3 million this year

Ed Rendell’s new bosses apparently think he did well at his last job.

Former Gov. Ed Rendell

In a new report co-authored by the Brookings Institute and the Rockefeller Center, both national public policy centers, Pennsylvania is singled out as an example of how to create jobs and grow the economy by boosting exports.

Mr. Rendell is one of the Brookings Institute’s newest employees, having accepted a position as a senior fellow at the Washington D.C.-based policy center less than two weeks after leaving office. Mr. Rendell will work at the Brookings Institute two days per month and told the Philadelphia Inquirer the position “would not be a major part of my overall compensation package.”

The report specifically highlights the state’s World Trade PA program, part of the Department of Community and Economically Development (DCED), which helps Pennsylvania companies find markets in other countries.

According to DCED, the program was responsible for supporting 6,400 jobs and generated $63 million in state and local tax receipts during 2010. According to the report, the performance measurement system used by the state “has paid off in terms of return on state investment.”

The program received more than $6.3 million of the DCED’s $327 million budget during the current fiscal year.

The current budget was signed by Mr. Rendell, but that did not stop members of new Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration from taking some credit.

In a statement, DCED Secretary C. Alan Walker said the state was pleased to be identified in the report.

“We are helping Pennsylvania companies find new markets in other countries because we set goals and listen to them,” said DCED Deputy Secretary for International Business Development Wilfred Muskens. “Our level of performance shows that our strategy is working.”