Several reviews of the program have shown that MEGA's performance record in choosing companies for MEGA deals is unimpressive. In addition, Mackinac Center researchers demonstrated in a 2005 study that MEGA fails to improve per-capita personal income, employment or the unemployment rate in the state and its counties. A study commissioned for this paper links MEGA tax credits with reductions in manufacturing employment.
This program too often distracts from the serious business of providing a better business climate and elevates some businesses above others. It recruits local governments to do the same and encourages them to provide subsidies that are awarded immediately, often independent of the subsequent performance of the recipient companies.