Beyond Reading

2013 ◽  
pp. 131-142
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Anecdotal Evidence ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Rural Libraries ◽  
Income Generating Activities

How might rural village libraries impact local economic development? This question has not been studied in depth, but there is some anecdotal evidence from some of the rural libraries presented in this book that access to these libraries may provide an indirect way for users to discover the link between access to information and improvement in their way of life. Sometimes, this improvement may manifest itself as an improvement in economic status, no matter how slight. Other times, access to the library might result in improved literacy skills that in the long run may allow users to engage in income-generating activities where reading or being able to write is necessary. The libraries themselves may also create local economic development programs that generate income that is then put back into the community and the library.

scholarly journals Local Economic Development, Agglomeration Economies, and the Big Push: 100 Years of Evidence from the Tennessee Valley Authority *

2013 ◽  
Vol 129 (1) ◽  
pp. 275-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Kline ◽  
Enrico Moretti
Keyword(s):  
Market Failure ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Extended Period ◽  
Agglomeration Economies ◽  
Tennessee Valley Authority ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Agricultural Employment ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Tennessee Valley ◽  
Manufacturing Productivity

Abstract We study the long-run effects of one of the most ambitious regional development programs in U.S. history: the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Using as controls authorities that were proposed but never approved by Congress, we find that the TVA led to large gains in agricultural employment that were eventually reversed when the program’s subsidies ended. Gains in manufacturing employment, by contrast, continued to intensify well after federal transfers had lapsed—a pattern consistent with the presence of agglomeration economies in manufacturing. Because manufacturing paid higher wages than agriculture, this shift raised aggregate income in the TVA region for an extended period of time. Economists have long cautioned that the local gains created by place-based policies may be offset by losses elsewhere. We develop a structured approach to assessing the TVA’s aggregate consequences that is applicable to other place-based policies. In our model, the TVA affects the national economy both directly through infrastructure improvements and indirectly through agglomeration economies. The model’s estimates suggest that the TVA’s direct investments yielded a significant increase in national manufacturing productivity, with benefits exceeding the program’s costs. However, the program’s indirect effects appear to have been limited: agglomeration gains in the TVA region were offset by losses in the rest of the country. Spillovers in manufacturing appear to be the rare example of a localized market failure that cancels out in the aggregate.

Better Evaluation Is Needed for Economic Development Programs to Thrive

1994 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy J. Bartik
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
State And Local

This article makes the case for more rigorous evaluations of state and local economic development programs, and provides some suggestions on how more rigorous evaluations may be accomplished.

scholarly journals Cultural Clusters as a Local Economic Development Strategy in Rural Small-Town Areas: Sarah Baartman District in South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (43) ◽  
pp. 107-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Drummond ◽  
Jen Snowball
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Threshold Level ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Creative Industries ◽  
Gis Mapping ◽  
Socio Economic Development

AbstractTheory suggests that cultural and creative industries (CCIs) cluster in cities where levels of socio-economic development are higher and where they can take advantage of the city’s hard and soft infrastructure. However, some South African rural areas and small towns have identified CCIs as potential economic drivers. This paper investigates the relationship between the presence of CCIs in non-metropolitan spaces and levels of socio-economic development using a municipal level socio-economic status index and GIS mapping. The results show a positive relationship between larger numbers of CCIs and higher levels of development. It is suggested that a threshold level of development must be met before CCIs will cluster in an area and become a viable option for promoting local economic development.

scholarly journals The Legacy of King Cotton: Agricultural Patterns and the Quality of Structural Change

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yeonha Jung
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Structural Change ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Boll Weevil ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Cotton Production ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Manufacturing Productivity

Agricultural patterns could have diverse impact on long-run economic development. In the context of the US South, this paper examines the legacy of cotton on economic development focusing on a novel channel of structural change. Exploiting variation in cotton production along with agro-climatic conditions, I show that the legacy of cotton has impeded local economic development exclusively as of the mid-twentieth century. The structural break is found to be a consequence of cotton mechanization. Evidence from exogenous variation in the boll weevil infestation shows that cotton farming was strongly dependent on tenant farmers with little human capital. Following cotton mechanization, cotton tenants were largely displaced and absorbed by the manufacturing sector. I then find that the inflow of cotton tenants has reduced labor productivity in the manufacturing sector. Beyond the composition effect, the negative impact on manufacturing productivity has persisted in the long-run through demand-side. Employing an index of state-level policy environment, I exploit within-state variation to show that the legacy of cotton has induced unskill-biased technical change in manufacturing.

Low-Carbon Design of Adjusting Measures - Reflections on Low-Carbon Residential Design Strategies in Nanjing

2012 ◽  
Vol 209-211 ◽  
pp. 466-469
Author(s):  
Ying Lin ◽  
Jian Gong Ye
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Construction Costs ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Housing Design ◽  
Residential Design ◽  
Geographical Characteristics

Combining with the differences of traditional houses between northern and southern parts of China, this paper argues that different choices of low-carbon housing design should be chosen to adjust to different climate conditions, in which geographic characteristics and economic status should be considered. Such designs can not only reflect geographical characteristics, but also reduce the construction costs of low-carbon housing effectively, and they are also in line with local economic development. And the paper also explores viable design strategies which can adjust themselves to low-carbon housing design in Nanjing.

Self-Report Accuracy in Local Economic Development Programs

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 315-324
Author(s):  
Bill Farley
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
City Managers ◽  
The Government ◽  
Finance Officers

Local economic development programs are primarily aimed at increasing employment and tax revenues. Data on these programs are collected through self-report surveys conducted by the International City Managers Association and others. This study evaluates predictors of accurate self-reporting. Using agency theory as a theoretical framework, the study measures the quantity of internal reporting components and the quality of financial reporting and evaluates how these are associated with accurate self-reporting. As a control, the condition of the local economy is also evaluated. The findings indicate a statistically significant relationship between the quality of financial reporting and the strength of a local economy with accurate self-reporting. Recommendations to improve research in this area are for the Government Finance Officers Association and the International City Managers Association to work together, with the former creating standards for reporting on local economic development programs and the latter aligning its survey with these standards.

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