Explaining the Extent of Local Economic Development Activity: Evidence from Canadian Cities

1992 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
L A Reese
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
The United States ◽  
Fiscal Health ◽  
Development Activity ◽  
Development Policies

This paper is an attempt to explain economic development policies in Canadian cities by examining local fiscal health, intercity competition for development, the extent of professionalism in the economic development arena, and local governmental structure. Although these factors have been found to affect local economic development practices in the United States, the data presented here indicate that this is not the case in Canada. Only the amount of planning in economic development, the extent of citizen input, the presence of ward-based elections, and the extent to which decisions are left to professionals appear to influence economic development techniques practised in a city.

The Growth Machine across the United States: Business Actors’ Influence on Communities’ Economic Development and Limited–Government Austerity Policies

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 462-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lazarus Adua ◽  
Linda Lobao
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
The United States ◽  
Growth Machine ◽  
Limited Government ◽  
Development Policies ◽  
Scale Down

The growth machine (GM) perspective has long guided urban research. Our study provides a new extension of this perspective, focusing on local business actors’ influence on communities across the United States. We question whether GM–oriented business actors remain widely associated with contemporary local economic development policies, and further, whether these actors influence the use of limited–government austerity policies. Conceptually, we extend the GM framework by bringing it into dialogue with the literature on urban austerity policy. The analysis draws from the urban–quantitative tradition of large–sample studies and assesses localities across the nation using the empirical case of county governments. We find local real estate owners, utilities, and other business actors broadly influence U.S. localities’ economic development policies. We also find some evidence that these actors’ influences in local governance are related to the use of such cutback policies as hiring freezes, capping of social services, expenditure cutbacks, and sale of public assets. Local Chambers of Commerce are particularly associated with cutback policies. Overall, the findings suggest that where local GM actors are influential, communities are more likely to adopt business–oriented economic development policies, limit the growth of social services for the less affluent, and scale–down the public sector.

Research Policy and Review 24. State Science Policy and Economic Development in the United States: A Critical Perspective

1988 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 999-1012 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Rees ◽  
R Bradley
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Science Policy ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Federal Spending ◽  
Critical Perspective ◽  
Development Policies ◽  
The Us

The economic impact of two major recessions in the United States (in the 1970s and early 1980s), together with cutbacks in federal spending during the 1980s, have made individual states more aware of their comparative advantage both in economic and in political terms. As a result, states have become more explicitly concerned with their own science policies and with how technological innovation can enhance their prospects for economic development. In this paper we explore the complex nature of science policy in the US intergovernmental system, examine the rigorous resource allocation issues involved, and look at a number of different types of technology-based economic development policies that have to date grown around the country.

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