The following easy explanation about what is Economic Development given as a note by an economist will help laymen to understand the concept. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Everyone Knows the Definition of Economic Development, Right ? Commonly people consider the definition of economic development to be vaguely related to business attraction, industrial growth, home building, or some type of construction within your nation, metropolitan area, or small town. Smarter folks talk about job creation as well. To be precise, the definition of economic development should be a net gain of money flow, called an economic base, into the community. This is equally true in Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Vienna, Dubuque, and an African village. The economic base derives from the production of goods and services in excess of local consumption needs for that product, service, or activity. Examples make the point best. The classic economic development activity in the U.S. in the twentieth century was industry. If your community hosted a toaster factory, for example, it would be pretty obvious that you were not making toasters just for yourselves. A majority of households in your small town might buy the brand of toaster manufactured there. But the factory made many more toasters that it could export all over the country or the world. What Is Economic Development? In this example, the money from the export of the toasters not used locally would be an economic gain for the community, and the net gain is economic development, using the stricter definition of the term advocated here. Its true that much of the money generated from the work of local laborers escaped from the community and enriched managers elsewhere and corporate ownership, whether the company is privately held or a publicly traded corporation. However, the wages of local workers are spent in the local community to some extent, and that in turn adds to the income of other community members who work for the local grocery store, own businesses on Main Street, own rental properties, and repair automobiles at the local garage. When wages are spent at other local businesses, thats the multiplier effect that you hear about. Because of the toaster manufacturer, other local businesses sell more goods and services than they would otherwise. ________________________________________ Why Selling Things to Each Other Isnt Economic Development Contrast the toaster example with the example of a taco chain coming to your town. In the case of tacos, there is no surplus left at the end of the day if the business knows what it is doing. In most cases, the tacos are purchased by local people, so the community is not really generating a surplus that it can sell or export. The notable exception is with tourism oriented communities, where people outside the community do indeed add to the market for restaurants. Just as in the toaster manufacturing example, if management and ownership of the taco chain reside outside the community, income leaks out of the community. Because the multiplier effect only kicks in when income is spent inside the community, the return of money to out-of-town managers, franchise fees, and out-of-town owners or stockholders represents a decrease in the amount of money that is available to feed the local economy. You can compute the classic measure of your economic base by following directions on our location quotient page. If you feel that the economic base term has been degraded so much that no one will hear you when you use it, a newer and perhaps more accurate way to think of true economic development is emerging. This centers on the distinction between tradable and non-tradable goods and services, with the tradables being those items that arent consumed locally. ________________________________________ What’s Your Definition of Economic Development? Now Ive explained the classic definition. I know from many experiences as a consultant that I probably havent talked you out of thinking that any new building is a great thing and of course its economic development. Just consider that a better definition of economic development may prevent you from futile gambles on tax incentives that dont raise the level of prosperity in your community over the long run. International economic development conversations also should focus on bringing in money from outside the community, not just recirculating the same money. Thats why both basic communication and transportation infrastructure are essential to economic development. Bringing in one cell phone to each isolated village is a potent tactic. Without contact with the outside world, a village cant tell people about its surplus products, whether that consists of bananas or baskets. And without access to a good road or other dependable, regular transportation network, economic development wont happen. One more definition of economic development I often hear in lower income communities or international circles is raising income levels of individuals. Unfortunately the plain word poverty has fallen out of favor. Thats a very important issue, and youll find more about community poverty in developed countries on another page. Alleviating poverty in the developing countries depends not only on building the transportation and communication infrastructure, but also on encouraging education, creativity and entrepreneurship support. Those are key ingredients of economic development, whether a nation is relatively rich or relatively poor.
Posted on: Wed, 14 May 2014 15:50:25 +0000
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