Political rationalizations and exceptionalism will always be used to justify giveaway policies With the possible exception of Greg LeRoy (who tracks state and local incentives for Good Jobs Now) and Amazon’s site location department, there’s
Bartik: The verdict on business tax incentives Read Post »
Too much economic development policy is based on a naive analogy to portfolio theory Cities looking to strengthen their economies should concentrate on building upon and extending current specializations One of the most widely agreed
Why economic diversification is a poor guide to local strategy Read Post »
The number of eating places per capita is a key measure of a city’s livability Cities are great places for consumers. They provide an abundance and variety of choices, especially in the form of experiences.
Consuming the city: Ranking restaurants per capita Read Post »
Whether at the neighborhood or metropolitan level, more job growth doesn’t seem to improve economic mobility There’s a seemingly un-questioned (and unquestionable) truth among economic development practitioners that more job creation is the universal answer
The limits of job creation Read Post »
Overselling localism is becoming an excuse to shed and shred federal responsibility Our friend, and director of the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program, Amy Liu, weighs in with a timely commentary on the limits of
The limits of localism Read Post »
To ballparks, convention centers and starchitect museums, add urban aquariums. To some boosters, your city is only one world-class visitor attraction away from economic prosperity. That pitch has been used to sell and endless series
Fishy business: the promise and perils of city aquariums Read Post »
