Hawaii ranks among the bottom ten states in economic competitiveness for the sixth year in a row in a study that measures the impact of state policies in 15 areas from personal income and corporate tax rates to the costs of workers’ compensation.

Hawaii improved to 40th place in 2013 from 46th place in 2012 in the ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index.

The study was published by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a nonprofit whose members include fossil-fuel companies and mostly Republican state legislators. Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, a public policy think tank, made the report available to Hawaii policymakers and businesses.

“While the 2013 study does show that Hawaii has improved in its overall rank from 46th to 40th in terms of economic outlook for the future, a careful examination of what is included in the study as well as what is not, should caution any optimism,”  said Kelii Akina, president of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii.