The export potential of services has been assessed without regard to forward and backward linkages. Yet regional service sector growth is often associated with three factors: the displacement of manufacturing functions into service establishments, the marketing role of manufacturing-displacing...

Since David Birch's work on the role of small business in job creation, a considerable amount of scholarly and practical attention has focused on small businesses. State and local governments have formulated policies to foster small business birth and growth, while scholars have tried to measure...

Policy debates over the investment of public funds in sports stadiums are dominated by a concern for the economic impact of local sports teams. Local officials in communities with minor league teams have little research on which to base their policy decisions and often assume that economic...

This article proposes that the idea of a regional sectoral cluster can provide economic development practitioners with more fruitful guidance for local sectoral policy than can the traditional conceptions of the industrial complex Outstanding studies of the steel sector in Chicago and the motion...

State policymakers strive to improve their business climates, and social scientists are interested in exploring both the causes and consequences of this action. However, the notion of a "business climate" is poorly conceptualized and crudely measured, and this has hindered progress in this area....

Based on data from a national sample survey of cities, this article shows that there is considerable variation in the extent to which mechanisms for citizen involvement are in place for economic development decision making. More important, the analysis shows that, for cities that are suffering...

The focus on economic development has largely been a substantive one. Researchers have sought to determine what policies states are employing, which are most effective, and which policies work best in which types of regional economies. However, procedural questions regarding how state political...

The effect of enterprise zone incentives on business location decisions has been actively debated in academic, political, and program practitioner circles. This essay concludes that financial incentives, such as tax refunds, credits, and abatements, that are offered to new businesses through...

The Job Training Partnership Act Title 11—A program is the main federal effort to enhance the employability of economically disadvantaged youths and adults. This article describes the structure of the Title II—A program, compares metro and nonmetro program performance during the...

Much attention in the urban economic development literature has focused on the relative merits of various economic development techniques and incentives. Less work has been done regarding why certain techniques are favored over others. In a study of 87 Michigan cities, this article explores the...