Economic Development Quarterly current issue

Emergence of Nanodistricts in the United States: Path Dependency or New Opportunities?

Shapira, P., Youtie, J. — 2008-07-28

Multiple economic development theories suggest that research and innovation in emerging technologies will cluster in certain locations rather than being equally distributed among all regions. If this is the case, this distributional pattern has implications for where future economic opportunities and future risks will be concentrated. In this article, the authors probe nanotechnology research and commercialization at a regional level. The study examines the top 30 U.S. "nanodistricts," or metropolitan areas that lead in nanotechnology research activity, during the 1990 to 2006 time frame. The authors explore the factors underlying the emergence of these 30 metropolitan areas through exploratory cluster analysis. The results indicate that although most of the leading nanodistricts are similar to top cities in previous rounds of emerging technologies, new geographic concentrations of nanotechnology research have surfaced as a result of having made concentrated investments in nanotechnology R&D into a single institution.

The Push-Pull Effects of the Information Technology Boom and Bust: Insight From Matched Employer--Employee Data

Hotchkiss, J. L., Pitts, M. M., Robertson, J. C. — 2008-07-28

This article examines the inflow and outflow of workers to different industries in Georgia during the information technology (IT) boom of the 1990s and the subsequent bust. Workers in the software and computer services industry were much more likely to have been absent from the Georgia workforce before the boom but were no more likely than workers from other industries to have exited Georgia's workforce during the bust. Consequently, Georgia likely experienced a net gain in worker human capital as a result of being an area of concentration of IT-producing activity during the IT boom.

The Economic and Workforce Development Activities of American Business Associations

McCormick, L. E., Hawley, J. D., Melendez, E. — 2008-07-28

Renewed scholarly interest in clusters of firms has increased attention on institutions—including business associations—that serve them. Scholars investigating "labor market intermediaries" also wonder to what extent employers' associations conduct workforce development. Much research has been done on business associations in Europe and less developed countries; less studied are those in the United States. This article fills this gap by reporting survey results from 716 American business associations. The article asks, To what extent do American business associations engage in economic development activities beyond lobbying? Does involvement in economic development predict involvement in workforce development? and Are those who engage in more strategic economic development activities more likely to conduct strategic workforce development? Using regression analysis, we find that a substantial share are involved in more strategic economic and workforce development activities and that economic development—specifically, more strategic activities—is a strong predictor of engagement in workforce-related activities.

Crime's Impact on the Survival Prospects of Young Urban Small Businesses

Bates, T., Robb, A. — 2008-07-28

The authors investigate the empirical link between prevailing levels of crime and the viability of small businesses. Using confidential microdata from the U.S. Census Bureau's Characteristics of Business Owners Survey, they find, on balance, that young firms operating in high-crime niches in urban America appear not to be disadvantaged by crime. Crime's impact may certainly be harmful, with other factors being constant, but the crux of the findings is that other factors are not constant. Firms most negatively affected by crime do not appear to be less viable than otherwise identical firms reporting that crime has no effect on their businesses. High-crime niches may in fact be rational choices for some business owners, present and potential.

Strategic Responses by Canadian and U.S. Exporters to Increased U.S. Border Security Measures: A Firm-Level Analysis

Vance, A. — 2008-07-28

After September 11, 2001, the U.S. and Canadian federal governments increased restrictions on materials and people crossing the border. Antiterrorism regulations have introduced costly compliance requirements, clearance delays, and unpredictable border wait times for companies conducting business across the international border. A recent study suggests that many Canadian and U.S.-based exporters intend to counteract these costs by implementing strategies including geographic supply chain reconfiguration. Strategic adjustments of this nature could have profound effects on the geography of North American supply chains, the structure and volume of bilateral trade, and the management of just-in-time delivery systems. This project follows up on the previous study via personal interviews with 35 businesses that had indicated an interest in geographic strategies. Preliminary findings suggest that firms are quickly adjusting to new security requirements and are improving communication channels throughout their cross-border supply chains to stay abreast of new developments.

Banking on the Margin in Canada

Buckland, J., Dong, X.-Y. — 2008-07-28

This article analyzes the socioeconomic characteristics of the financially excluded in Canada using the 1999 Statistics Canada Survey of Financial Security and two surveys sponsored by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada in 2001 and 2005. The authors find that financial exclusion is more concentrated among low-income Canadians; low-income, low-level of assets, and single-parent statuses are correlated with being unbanked. A review of banking preferences of low-income people indicates that economically disadvantaged households are more concerned about convenience and not as interested in new banking technologies.

Response to May 2007 Article by Frank Giarratani, Gene Gruver, and Randall Jackson on Industry Agglomeration

Duke Kominers, S. — 2008-07-28

Ten new steel plants were constructed in the United States from 1989 to 2001, each taking advantage of new steel slab casting technologies that gave scrap-based minimills access to the flat-products market. This market had been served previously exclusively by ore-based integrated mills. Some of the new minimills were built in established steel industry agglomerations. Others were built in greenfield locations with little or no prior steelmaking activity. This research, based on direct observation and plant visits, brings new evidence to bear on the nature and importance of agglomeration economies associated with steel production by analyzing industry clusters related to the advent of slab casting by steel minimills. The authors find that industry clusters can plan an important role in the process of market entry; however, certain product and firm characteristics can shape the nature of industry agglomerations and their effect on firms and regions.

Rejoinder to Scott Duke Kominers

Giarratani, F., Gruver, G., Jackson, R. — 2008-07-28

Book Review: Short, J. Rennie. (2004). Global Metropolitan: Globalizing Cities in a Capitalist World. New York: Routledge

Marcuse, P. — 2008-07-28