Sunday, July 31, 2005
Twenty years ago I got into the economic development business after serving as a consultant to large multinational companies, like General Electric, Ford and Volvo.
During my time as they corporate strategy consultants, I spent a lot of effort understanding how global manufacturing has been evolving. A number of these projects led me to recommend the closure of manufacturing facilities in United States and moving these facilities to lower-cost countries like Mexico. (I moved into economic development when I realized that commmunity leaders did not understand these trends.)
These cost dynamics are still in play. Here's a good article on how global cost pressures are shaping the prospects or manufacturing facilities located along the US worker with Mexico. Read more.
posted by Ed Morrison |
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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.
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.
Shifting global cost dynamics: The Maquila industry
