Saturday, March 06, 2004
In the years after World War II, the South built its economy on branch plant recruitment. Now we can see shifts happening every month as more Souther states figure out that the branch plant strategy -- grounded on lower costs relative to Northern states -- no longer works all that well.
Arkansas' governor has appointed a commission on higher education. The state's top economic development official testified before the commission last week, and drew the tight connection between education and economic development. Here are some quotes from the state's economic development director, Larry Walther :
“We cannot direct a company to locate to a community without an educated work force.”
“If we are to compete in the next 15 to 20 years with other surrounding states, we must win in the classroom — not just on the football field and the basketball court."
The department's head of research reinforced the message:
“We can no longer go after low-wage branch (manufacturing) plants. We have to start going after higher-paying knowledge-based jobs, and education will be the driving force behind that.”
Some Background on EDPro Weblog
The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it.
One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information.
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Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development
As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking.
Background on Ed Morrison
Download some background information on me here.
Arkansas draws connections between higher education and economic development
