Chapter 2 Discussion
Blakely, Bradshaw 3rd Ed.
Toward a National & State Policy Agenda:
Federal Policies – Examples:
3 Approaches to National Economic Policy:
- Nationwide Reindustrialization:
- Rebuild Industrial Stock – targeted tax incentives;
national financing of infrastructure
- Deregulate labor to reduce its power
- Sunrise industries – new jobs
in the global market
- Less-Government Advocates
- Regulations and policies restrict trade and made US
less competitive
- Advocate “free market”
- Abolish minimum wage
- Industrial Policy ~ Local Dimension
- Increase community control over corporate investment
policies
- Community control over economic stability and quality
of life
- Workers have increased control / certainty over their
livelihoods
For Example, National Policies could provide:
- Tax Writeoffs ~ non-productive investment
- Fed $ for local ED Planning
- Loans for Technology and Industrial growth @ local
level
- Worker training, education, benefits (portable, preferably)
OEDC Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,
Goals:
- moderate impact of rapid economic change on firms,
localities and individuals
- revitalize local economies
Existing National Policies:
- Monetary and Tax Policy
- Trade Policy
- Welfare Policy
- Health Care Policy
- Employment Policy
How do we rate on these??
SO, HOW CAN NATIONAL POLICY TARGET LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
? (given national policy’s limitations in affecting local
employment and economies)
- Planning through programs such as: Model Cities;
refocused EDA, and other urban renewal
- Faded out in the 80s (Reagan / Bush era)
- Emerged again in the 90s (beginning of new urbanism)
- National Metropolitan Policy emerged (Cisneros and
others
Bottom Line: These programs began
to address the issues that drag local economies down: Jobs, housing,
poverty, infrastructure decline, industrial obsolescence,
access to capital, etc.
BY:
Enterprise Zones
Welfare Reforms
Youth Employment
Infrastructure Redevelopment
Not Successful Yet, but headed in the right direction?
Problem – Federal policymakers realize that Fed
policy must be “in the background” but (particularly
in the past 5 years) there is something missing……that
prevents local development from succeeding. ???
State Economic Development
Look at “3 waves” charts on pp. 44, 45
WHAT HAPPENED IN ILLINOIS?
What needs to happen for 3rd Wave policies (state and
local to work?)
- Less reliance on population growth and migration
- Cannot rely on growth of manufacturing
- Cannot rely on regional and national market positions
(globalism, export, technology effects)
- “Single industry” or those with a small
number of large employers, are more vulnerable
- Long-term adult and youth employment solutions will
be required to grow local economies
- Geographic and transportation advantages are giving
way to new factors: research parks,
higher education, technology infrastructure, capital markets
and support services
SO WHAT?
Fed economic success needs and is built on local economies,
which in turn, depend on stable and useful Fed policies and resources.
- Localities should avoid being “victims” of
economic change by understanding external forces and issues
- Increase entrepreneurialism
- Use Leverage
- Use all available resources and programs that fit
- Don’t rely on the “home runs” or
large companies
- Avoid the trap of “zero-sum-game” incentives
- Form and use networks and alliances to build stability
NATIONAL POLICY SETS THE CONTEXT FOR SUCCESSFUL LOCAL
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, BUT COMMUNITIES PROSPER BY REPLACING COMPETITION
WITH COLLABORATION
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