Chuck Lawton, an economist formerly with the State Planning Office in Maine, is one of my favorite commentators on the changing dynamics of regional economic development. He has a knack for translating dry economic statistics into images that people can understand.
Chuck was recently the inaugural guest speaker at the opening of the Great Falls Forum in Lewiston, Maine. In his remarks, he points to the challenge of increasing the "social overhead" (my term), while not expanding productivity and personal incomes as fast. You can read a summary of his comments here.