Development in Alabama's Black Belt Saturday, February 05, 2005 Mayors in the Alabama's Black Belt have been meeting to share insights and ideas on economic development. (The Black Belt refers to group of 12 Alabama counties that are among the poorest in the nation. These counties include Bibb, Bullock, Choctaw, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lowndes, Marengo, Macon, Perry, Sumter and Wilcox.) Congressman Arthur Davis provided some interesting insight to frame the discussion: "We need to abandon the dependence on low paying jobs that don’t really help our citizens. Some jobs don’t help growth. We need to get away from the gambling and landfill type and pursue industry that will stimulate economic growth and the up-lifting of our citizens.” Read more. Think of it in these terms. Economic development involves three types of money. "Good money" comes from businesses that trade outside your region. They generate wealth. (Michael Porter's work at Harvard suggests that wages for these traded businesses are about one-third higher than "sheltered" businesses.) "Neutral money" comes from businesses that circulate revenues within an economy. You buy haircuts from me, and I buy lawn care from you. "Bad money" comes from business transactions that export wealth from an economy. Many people think that Wal-Mart falls into this category. Except in relatively rare cases, casinos fall into this category as well. Congressman Davis is arguing that the Black Belt needs to focus on the first type of business, not the other two. posted by Ed Morrison |		This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. links 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. So, spread the word...Share the knowledge. Tell a friend about EDPro Weblog. If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site: Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber: 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.

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