Sunday, September 25, 2005
There's one thing for sure. Pennsylvania has a lot of local governments.
The question is whether these government units promote or retard the state's competitiveness.
Sometime ago, the Brookings Institution issued a report on Pennsylvania. Among other things, the report concluded that the fragmentation of local government in the state hampers competitiveness. In effect, the report argued that the state has a relatively high public overhead. (This is a regional problem. Northern states generally have a higher public employment per capita than Southern states.)
This fragmentation also leads to an ineffectual response to sprawl. (Pennsylvania like other Great Lakes states, is suffering from no growth sprawl.) The study contended that by not addressing this issue effectively, the state was weakening the state's established communities at a time when it needs these communities to compete in the global, knowledge-based economy.
Not surprisingly, township officials argue against these conclusions. Read more about this controversy.
You can download the Brookings report from this page. You can learn more about what is happening in Pennsylvania as an outgrowth of the Brookings report from the RenewPA web site.
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.
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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.
Too many governments in Pennsylvania?
