The U.S. Congress created the Small Business Innovation Research program in 1982 in response to the loss of American competitiveness in global markets. Congress mandated that each federal agency allocate approximately 4% of its annual budget to fund innovative small firms to help restore...

Many U.S. local governments that promote economic development give business subsidies, creating high levels of risk and uncertainty. Their main concern is that firms receiving subsidies may not benefit the city as much as the cost of the subsidies. To overcome this risk and uncertainty, many...

Various forms of cooperation among local governments have long been advocated as means to aggregate resources and demand in rural areas so that public services and infrastructure can be improved. This research assesses the degree of multicounty collaboration in rural parts of the Tennessee...

The authors conducted a two-stage survey of community economic development professionals in Utah. Their objectives were to elicit information about three components of local development effort and to assess the success of differential strategies for development. Emphasis was given to the...

In a number of areas in the United States, local governments, often with the help of private sector firms and nonprofit organizations, have voluntarily formed groups or alliances whose mission is to enhance the economy of a multijurisdictional area. This article presents the results of the first...

Analysis of the outcome of economic development programs is essential for improved public policy. This study reports on the California State Loan Guarantee Program, which guaranteed small business bank loans to carefully selected firms that could not otherwise obtain credit. The study tracked...

This article demonstrates the importance of home-based businesses to the U.S. economy. These firms produced 10% of all receipts of the small-business sector in 1996, and their numbers have grown rapidly. This article examines what kinds of businesses are being run out of the home but...

This article examines dynamics underlying the growth of a flourishing bioscience cluster in San Diego, California, to illustrate the construction of an innovative environment and the matching of place characteristics with a specific economic activity. Extensive interviews explore the formation...

American cities are seeing a boom in the development of convention centers. In city after city, massive public investment in convention facilities has been justified by feasibility and market studies that consistently portray a booming national demand for exhibition space. These studies also...