International Journal of Economic Development the changing role of government in economic development.
Blair, Robert ; Reed, B.J.
Many public officials consider economic development and growth
essential to the future of their cities and states. They measure the
economic and social well being of their communities in terms of
increases in population, jobs, companies, etc. (Peterson, 1981;
Calavita, 1995). Through public policy efforts government forged
partnerships with other beneficiaries of economic development,
especially private business. Community leaders then encouraged business
expansion and other components of urban and economic development (Morgan
and England, 1996: p. 369; Judd and Swanstrom, 1994: p. 339), often
resulting in local variations of an "urban growth machine"
(Logan and Molotch, 1987). Historically, then, government assumed a
primary role in attempts to foster economic development and business
growth through policy initiatives and partnerships with the private
sector.
Many scholars, however, have noted the changing nature of the
involvement of government in the formulation and implementation of
economic development. For many years this policy consisted of simply
attracting industrial and manufacturing entities to a community by
improving the local infrastructure and reducing the supply costs to a
firm with a goal of expanding the area's primary employment base
(Moriarty, 1980). Today, most would agree that economic development is
comprised of a collection of intricate strategies with a complex set of
goals including the expansion of entrepreneurial opportunities,
assisting with product development and marketing, and undertaking a
variety of other "demand side" policy efforts to foster the
growth and of new and existing firms and extend the range and scope of
employment opportunities (Eisinger, 1988). Factors like an increasingly
technical economy, a growing global market place, and the devolution of
many domestic policies to the states have influenced the approach to
economic development.
In spite of the growing sophistication of economic development, one
characteristic remains constant: the goal of economic development is to
create and foster the growth and well being of the private sector
through the efforts of public policy initiatives and programs. In other
words, government and the public sector remains deeply involved in this
policy area that primarily benefit the private sector. Government and
business continue to partner in the formulation and implementation of
economic development policy. However, like the policy itself, the nature
of the public-private partnership in economic development has changed.
Often viewed as a policy that benefits all members of a community
(Peterson, 1981), local economic development policy has not been without
its critics. For example, research shows the social and economic costs
of uncontrolled or rapid urbanization and urban economic development
(Black & Curtis, 1993; Porter, 1997; Burchell, 1997; Katz &
Bradley, 1999), yet promoting economic growth remains synonymous with
most American communities in the 21st Century (Fodor, 1999: p.11; Judd
& Swanstrom, 1994: p.24). And while the globalization and
restructuring of the economy continues to alter the role of local
government in economic development, cities still focus on expansion;
emphasizing strategies to "facilitate the climate for growth,"
rather than subsidizing individual firms like they did for the urban
growth machine (Clark & Gaile, 1998: p. 8).
This symposium strives to describe the changes taking place in
government's role in the formulation and implementation of economic
development. Hopefully, explanations for these changes and implications
to public policy and public administration will begin to emerge. The
following collection of articles addresses a number of issues relating
to the changing role of government in economic development policy. For
example, one of the symposium editors offers a piece that offers an
explanation for the rise in New Public Management tools and strategies:
the intergovernmental aspect of economic development implementation.
Another article addresses collaboration issues between state government
and the nonprofit sector and its impact on economic development
implementation, focusing on the facilitation of international trade in
western Michigan. The author describes the complex nature of these
public-nonprofit partnerships, the resulting collaborative delivery
networks, and the implication to public administration.
References
Black, T. J. and Curtis, R. 1993. The Local Fiscal Effects of
Growth and Commercial Development Over Time. Washington, D.C.: Urban
Land Institute.
Burchell, R. W. 1998. Cost of Sprawl Revisited: The Evidence of
Sprawl's Negative and Positive Impacts. Washington, D.C: National
Transportation Research Board and National Research Council.
Calavita, N. 1995. "Introduction to Urban Growth." In
Exploring Urban America: An Introductory Reader. Ed. Roger W. Caves.
Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.
Clarke, S. E. and Gaile, G. L. 1998. The Work of Cities.
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Eisinger, Peter. 1988. The Rise of the Entrepreneurial State--State
and Local Economic Development Policy in the United States. Madison,
Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press.
Fodor, E. 1999. Better Not Bigger: How to Take Control of Urban
Growth and Improve Your Community. Gabriola Island, British Columbia:
New Society Publishers.
Judd, D. R. and Swanstrom, T. 1994. City Politics: Private Power
and Public Policy. New York: HarperCollins.
Katz, B. and Bradley, J. 1999. "Urban Affairs: Divided We
Sprawl." The Atlantic Monthly. 284 (6), pp. 26-30, 38-42.
Logan, J. and Molotch, H. 1987. Urban Fortunes: The Political
Economy of Place. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Morgan, D. R. and England, R. E. 1996. Managing Urban America.
Fourth Edition. Chatham, New Jersey: Chatham House Publishers, Inc
Moriarty, Barry M. 1980. Industrial Location and Community
Development. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
Peterson, P. E. 1981. City Limits. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press.
Porter, D. R. 1997. Managing Growth in America's Communities.
(In cooperation with members of The Growth Management Institute.)
Washington, D.C.: Island Press.
Robert Blair and BJ Reed
Department of Public Administration
University of Nebraska at Omaha
