What Should EDA Fund?: Developing a Model for Preassessment of Economic Development Investments

This article describes a comprehensive study of regionalism conducted by a joint team of economists and economic development specialists for the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA). The project consisted of two main activities: an examination of the factors associated with economic development success and the creation of a practical interactive tool for EDA project assessment and comparison. Findings from surveys, interviews, and project case studies are discussed in terms of their support for a positive relationship between successful economic development efforts and factors such as leadership and private investment. The authors also discuss the creation of a quantitative assessment model using well-known approaches such as economic impact multipliers and cluster theory. The primary contribution of this work to the existing body of EDA-focused research and evaluation literature is its introduction of a means of using standardized scores, also known as z-scores, to compare and assess economic development projects across both industries and regions.