Economic Development Quarterly current issue

Regional Benchmarking in a Global Context: Knowledge, Competitiveness, and Economic Development

Huggins, R., Izushi, H. — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:10:05 PDT

Benchmarking exercises have become increasingly popular within the sphere of regional policy making. However, most exercises are restricted to comparing regions within a particular continental bloc or nation.This article introduces the World Knowledge Competitiveness Index (WKCI), which is one of the very few benchmarking exercises established to compare regions across continents.The article discusses the formulation of the WKCI and analyzes the results of the most recent editions.The results suggest that there are significant variations in the knowledge-based regional economic development models at work across the globe. Further analysis also indicates that Silicon Valley, as the highest ranked WKCI region, holds a unique economic position among the globe’s leading regions. However, significant changes in the sources of regional competitiveness are evolving as a result of the emergence of new regional hot spots in Asia. It is concluded that benchmarking is imperative to the learning process of regional policy making.

Creative and Knowledge Industries: An Occupational Distribution Approach

Mellander, C. — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:10:05 PDT

This article deals with the discussion around so-called creative industries. Up until now, most definitions have been based on the final product rather than the actual processes within the firms.This work is an attempt to increase the knowledge about what is going on within industries. We use a micro data set, including all private firms and all individuals employed by those firms, to identify the exact occupational distribution within Swedish industries. Furthermore, a debate has questioned whether creative individuals are separated from the highly educated. In this work, therefore, education level is separated from occupational task.

The Impact of New Employers From the Outside, the Growth of Local Capitalism, and New Amenities on the Social and Economic Welfare of Small Towns

Besser, T. L., Recker, N., Parker, M. — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:10:05 PDT

The purpose of this study was to determine if the outcomes of economic development result in the anticipated economic and social benefits.The authors differentiated between the proximal outcomes of development (e.g., attracting a new employer) and their distal outcomes (e.g., increased employment and income). Indicators of economic change from secondary sources were merged with primary data from resident surveys and key informants’ interviews for 99 small Iowa towns for the analyses. Findings show that the opening of absentee-owned employers had positive economic benefits compared to the situation in other similar towns. However, it was not accompanied by gains in quality of life. The growth of local capitalism was associated with more positive quality of life outcomes. New amenities were not associated with economic or quality of life changes.

Perceptions of Regional Economic Development: Can Win--Lose Become Win--Win?

Gordon, V. — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:10:05 PDT

This study extends previous research that explored the perceptions of economic development decision makers in Illinois regarding regional economic development competition and cooperation.This research project further contributes to an understanding of the interlocal cooperative interactions that exist between and among local governments.The author uses a qualitative approach using in-depth interviews conducted in 2006-2007 of participants within selected regions of Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. In 2002, communities participated in cooperative efforts, understood the benefits of cooperation, and expressed a willingness to cooperate in regional economic development efforts, however, the myriad obstacles to cooperation significantly curtailed cooperative efforts; now, the communities examined in Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee have moved to actual cooperative action. Interviewees recognize that they must cooperate to be successful in economic development efforts— suggesting perhaps that economic development previously perceived as an inherently win—lose game has become a win—win arrangement.

Do Environmental Regulations Impede Economic Growth? A Case Study of the Metal Finishing Industry in the South Coast Basin of Southern California

Thomas, W. — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:10:05 PDT

Air pollution emitted from firms and industries in the United States poses a significant threat to human health and the environment. Economists have traditionally opposed environmental regulations based on the argument that regulations reduce economic growth. Some scholars, however, have argued that polluting firms often adjust to environmental regulations through technological innovations that have the opposite effect. This study examines the effects of environmental regulations on economic growth through a case study of the metal finishing industry in the South Coast Basin of Southern California. The industry in the Basin has been regulated since 1988 by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) as a result of the industry’s use of hexavalent chromium. Based on a comparative analysis of the metal finishing industries in Chicago and Detroit, it appears that the AQMD regulations have not had a detrimental impact on the growth of the industry in the Basin.

Assessing Factors Associated With Listing a Historic Resource in the National Register of Historic Places

Maskey, V., Brown, C., Lin, G. — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:10:05 PDT

Previous research reveals various economic and social impacts in the community from listing historic resources in the National Register of Historic Places; however, information on underlying community factors that influence these listings has not been examined and could be useful for policy makers. The current study examines the socioeconomic, institutional, and location factors influencing the listing of historic resources in the National Register in the Appalachian state of West Virginia.Two separate models of total historic listings and rate of historic house listings in the National Register identify the following: number of higher education institutions and older houses, rural area, more than one historic preservation organization, proportion of females, and the share of income in the service economy. Age, poverty rate, and the Gini coefficient of income inequality have an inverse relationship with listing.

The Impacts of Variations in Development Context on Employment Growth: A Comparison of Central Cities in Michigan and Ontario, 1980-2006

Jacobs, A.J. — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:10:05 PDT

This study compares post-1980 central city employment trends in the state of Michigan and the province of Ontario, similar-sized, closely linked by trade, and situated within the same natural region but in different federalist nations. Guided by interviews with 124 development officials, the study describes how variations in Michigan’s and Ontario’s central cities’ employment mix, "state" approach to development, framework for local authority, and sociodemographic dynamics (e.g., interracial relations, racial distribution, and others) have been among several embedded or contextual factors fostering divergent employment trends in their respective central cities.The study’s findings also demonstrate how state/provincial embeddedness has remained especially influential.To help bridge the gap between theory and concrete public policy making, the article’s conclusion offers a set of factors to be considered by scholars and practitioners in their efforts to understand and compare growth trends in urban areas.As a group, these elements are called the contextualized model of urban-regional development.

Book Review: Mitchell, J. (2008). Business Improvement Districts and the Shape of American Cities. Albany: State University of New York Press

Bauroth, N. — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:10:05 PDT