Markusen and Glasmeier propose an intriguing overhaul for federal economic development policy. Many elements of their prescription are badly needed. However, their remedy does not fully embrace a conclusion that much of the rest of the world has reached—that economic development policy is...

This article centers on the potential attractiveness of central and east European countries' (CEEC) economies for industrial groups given their comparative economic and institutional characteristics. The authors focus on the possibility that cars and components production may be relocated from...

Markusen and Glasmeier offer a policy-driven road map for a restructured and revitalized federal role in economic development for the federal Economic Development Administration (EDA). A review of EDA's history and a survey of similar programs suggest that, in addition, long-term political...

Michael Porter's cluster theory became popular at both the academic and policy levels as well as received a series of critiques. This article provides a synthetic view of those critiques. In addition, it reveals two new fundamental limitations of the theory. First, the descriptive and static...

The economic downturn post-2000 badly undermined the rapid growth of knowledge-based and technology-led sectors. This article reflects on post- and pre-2000 development from the perspective of the evolution of regional clusters of knowledge-based activity. Four case studies of knowledge clusters...

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...

This article reviews conceptual and operational issues in defining the creative sector and its arts and cultural core. Some accounts use establishment data to measure creative industry employment, some use firm-level data, and others use occupational data. The authors examine how cultural-sector...

Creative class theory, now a mainstay of local economic development policy, has a dark side: Cities that have a larger creative talent pool are also likely to have greater income inequality. Richard Florida, in acknowledging this disturbing trend, has assigned a new role to the creative...