Does Local Economic Development Work?

For decades, city fathers and academics have studied economic development, searching diligently for ways to make urban economies prosper. Surely this quest is understandable–as understandable as the search for success that so many people undertake in the personal-finance section of the local bookstore.

But just as personal finance has yet to unlock the secret of how to get rich, no surefire government-led strategy exists that can turn around a troubled economy like Buffalo’s or Gary’s. Cities, like people, are too diverse to allow anything but fairly commonsense prescriptions. A lot of grand theories have been advanced–targeted tax incentives! bike paths!–but they have proven of little practical use.

Mario Polèse

Full Story: http://www.city-journal.org/2011/21_4_urban-development.html