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Resource (for Southern EDPros): Book on the South
Sunday, April 18, 2004 Here's an interesting review of a recent book on the economic emergence of the South after World War II. The book is "The Southern Advantage: Why You Should Consider Doing Business in the World's Fourth-Largest Economy," by Joe Hollingsworth Jr. with Mike Randle and Trisha Ostrowski. Read more about the book. Go. The process of Southern economic development actually started during the Depression in Mississippi. The construction of defense plants in World War II (and the conscious decision by the federal government to locate these plants outside the industrialized corridors in the North) led to the acceleration of economic development in Southern states after the war. Southern EDPros mastered the art of branch plant recruitment, and meanwhile Northern economies, especially those in the Northeast, suffered as manufacturing plants headed South. Rhode Island, alone, lost over fifty textile plants between 1950 and 1965. The authors are a little too brash, though. The South faces another major transition to a global economy. In this new world, branch plant recruitment is not a winning strategy. All across the South, plants that opened from the 1960s to the 1980's are now closing down. Impacts in rural economies have been particularly severe. In a global economy, we can't build prosperity by sewing underwear. Southern EDPros face a major challenge in altering their thinking to compete in a global economy. We must now all compete in a world in which brainpower is king. posted by Ed Morrison | |
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