Monday, February 19, 2007
Beginning in the late 1990's, a number of Southern states -- North Carolina and Georgia, notably -- began to focus on early childcare as a form of economic development. The rationale for this policy emerged from the rapid developments in brain science. Research showed that early brain development plays a pivotal role in later intellectual (and, hence, economic)performance.
In the years since, the evidence has been accumulating. A few years ago, economists at the Federal Reserve Bank in Minneapolis show be impressive returns of investing in early childcare. Read more.
More recently, business leaders at the prestigious Committee for Economic Development have placed early child care in the center of their economic development agenda. Read more.
Now, business leaders in South Dakota are taking funds set aside for recruiting businesses and investing these monies into early childcare. 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.
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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.
Early child care as economic development
