Proceedings of the Midwest Economic Restructuring Conference of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

* Benchmarking cost-benefit analysis and testing impinge on every area of society* Important tool for business, educators, policy makers, planners and researchersWritten for nonprofessionals and professionals alike who wish to master the reading and critiquing of policy and program evaluation, "Evaluation in Practice" is packed with practical guidelines and useful examples. The book covers approaches to outcome evaluations, measurement, threats to internal validity, performance measurement, and benchmarking. It also introduces the basic experimental and quasi-experimental designs supported by an article that uses each design, and offers an explanation and critique of how the authors implemented the design. Primarily written for readers with a social science background the examples and articles in the book are taken from a variety of fields to illustrate the commonality of evaluation. Program and policy analysts, research directors, and assistant city managers will find the explanations and critiques of published evaluations particularly valuable.

The recession and concerns over industrial competitiveness in the 1980s generated public concern with job retention and creation, leading to state and local programs designed to stimulate local economic development. As a new, rapidly growing field, local economic development literature proliferated, but has not provided a comprehensive source for the field. Several questions are of particular concern: What are the major financing mechanisms for economic development? How do they actually work? How does one evaluate their effectiveness? Financing Economic Development is a comprehensive resource which describes the major mechanisms available for financing economic development. The chapters describe financing tools or programs in some detail; provide one or more examples of how they work; classify the tool according to various approaches; and come to an evaluative conclusion about the utility and effectiveness of the mechanism for economic development. A documentation of institutional innovation by state and local government, this volume shows how governments--across the United Statesuare working with private sector financiers, thereby allowing private intermediaries to invest in new enterprises. With contributions by highly qualified practitioners and academics, this volume is appropriate for professionals as well as for upper division undergraduate and graduate students in urban studies, public administration, and policy studies. "The book provides useful information by presenting a considerable number of institutional arrangements and showing the immense variety of approaches to economic development on the state and local level. The latter aspect is particularly fascinating for readers from countries with a less fragmented government than the United States." --Journal of Evolutionary Economics "Although there have been a plethora of publications on economic development, this book is a useful addition to the body of literature on the subject. The book provides some useful examples and case studies of private-sector participation, which, of course, is the goal of most economic development programs." --Government Finance Review

The proper role of government in the U.S. economy has been the subject of ideological dispute for generations. In some recent variations the debate has ranged from purist advocacy of government "hands-off" to calls for protectionist policies and aggressive support for American businesses struggling in a cut-throat world market.

What is the reality? This question animates Richard Bingham's provocative study of industrial policy American-style, as practiced (if not preached) by administration after administration. Readable and enlivened with case studies, this book is accessible and of interest to anyone who follows business-government relations in the United States and abroad.

The proper role of government in the US economy has long been the subject of ideological dispute. This study of industrial policy as practised by administration after administration, explores the variations from a hands-off approach to protectionist policies and aggressive support for businesses.

In his influential 1991 book Edge City, Joel Garreau argued that every American city "is growing in the fashion of Los Angeles, with multiple urban cores". He named these cores "edge cities" because they perform all of the city functions, but rise in places that were farmlands or villages only decades ago, far from the old downtowns. This new book expands and clarifies Garreau's pioneering concept as it develops a comprehensive theory of edge city growth and functions. The contributors draw on their expertise as geographers, political scientists, economics planners, and sociologists to offer a wide range of insights and analyses.

Is local economic development a "zero-sum game"? How do we know that "but for the incentives" the development would not have occurred? How important is "quality of life" in location decisions and local economic development? Is industry targeting a viable economic development strategy? This book tackles these and many other significant questionsufrom more than one perspective. Dilemmas of Urban Economic Development assesses the "state of the art" of the field of urban economic development. Each chapter addresses a particularly pertinent issue in economic development. Following each chapter are commentariesuone written by an academic addressing research methodology and the other by a practitioner addressing both the question and the evidence. The chapters are concluded with the author of each chapter responding directly to the issues raised by the commentators. The result is a productive dialogue between academics, practitioners, and citizens concerned with economic development.

Proceedings of the Midwest Economic Restructuring Conference of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

This study of civil liberties focuses on the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the dispute in Skokie, Illinois over the rights of members of the Nazi party to hold public demonstrations. Because this issue promoted at least one-fourth of the membership of the ACLU to take some form of action, ranging from objecting and reducing financial contributions to resigning, this conflict presents the opportunity for a case study of the conditions under which attitudes toward civil liberties are mobilized into behavior.

Is local economic development a "zero-sum game"? How do we know that "but for the incentives" the development would not have occurred? How important is "quality of life" in location decisions and local economic development? Is industry targeting a viable economic development strategy? This book tackles these and many other significant questionsufrom more than one perspective. Dilemmas of Urban Economic Development assesses the "state of the art" of the field of urban economic development. Each chapter addresses a particularly pertinent issue in economic development. Following each chapter are commentariesuone written by an academic addressing research methodology and the other by a practitioner addressing both the question and the evidence. The chapters are concluded with the author of each chapter responding directly to the issues raised by the commentators. The result is a productive dialogue between academics, practitioners, and citizens concerned with economic development.

Assembling the leading thinkers and practitioners in the field of economic development, Theories of Local Economic Development places state-of-the-art theoretical positions on such important issues as inner-city development, rural development, technological innovation, and rebuilding economic infrastructure. To accomplish this task, the contributors skillfully incorporate illustrative case material. Chapters draw on the disciplines of economics, geography, regional science, urban planning, sociology, political science, and public administration. The pivotal assumption behind this book is that research should and can lead to general statements about economic development. As a result, scholars of economics and public finance, public administration, political science, urban studies, policy studies, and development studies will appreciate this invaluable resource. "Bingham and Mier have compiled an interesting study of local economic development in the United States by bringing together a series of papers that review aspects of economic growth from across a range of methodological perspectives. . . . The study is to be recommended to anyone wishing to gain a general understanding of current theoretical debate in the United States to economic development and may provide readers with some useful ideas on possible methodological approaches to understanding economic development in Britain." --Local Government Studies "The individual contributions are generally sound, well-written reviews of the various theories relating to their particular subject areas . . . The study is designed to have a common theme of reviewing problems and succeeds in its aim by providing a far more consistent study than many other collections of papers. The study is, therefore, to be recommended to anyone wishing to gain a general understanding of current theoretical debate in the United States and may provide readers with some useful ideas on possible methodological approaches to understanding economic development in Britain." --Local Government Studies

Local governments in the United States are important in providing an almost endless variety of services that immediately affect our lives. And, in recent years local governments and administrators are becoming increasingly important as they try to deal effectively with drugs, AIDS, homelessness, gangs, economic decline, or even economic development. A well written examination, this important volume provides a descriptive analysis of how public administrators manage municipal government. Managing Local Government explores conceptual and empirical dimensions of public administration including the legal aspects of public management; human resource management; budgeting and public finance; the political dimension; intergovernmental relations; and ethical considerations. Within this context, the authors take up such pressing and practical issues as economic development, housing, culture and recreation, public safety, transportation, and waste disposal. Professionals and students of public administration, urban studies, policy studies, and political science will find this volume essential reading. " The American text, Managing Local Government: Public Administration in Practice is another example in the large collections of readings, modestly priced, and . . . covering key policy and administration issues. . . . The bringing together of these studies, mostly written by practitioners, is a long overdue and worthy contribution to the literature. The insights contained here could hitherto only be gleaned from professional journals. In teaching a course on municipal administration I found this book to contain important practical and theoretical insights. I can only hope that someone will be stimulated to draw together similar insights from the Canadian background." --Trevor Price, University of Windsor

The recession and concerns over industrial competitiveness in the 1980s generated public concern with job retention and creation, leading to state and local programs designed to stimulate local economic development. As a new, rapidly growing field, local economic development literature proliferated, but has not provided a comprehensive source for the field. Several questions are of particular concern: What are the major financing mechanisms for economic development? How do they actually work? How does one evaluate their effectiveness? Financing Economic Development is a comprehensive resource which describes the major mechanisms available for financing economic development. The chapters describe financing tools or programs in some detail; provide one or more examples of how they work; classify the tool according to various approaches; and come to an evaluative conclusion about the utility and effectiveness of the mechanism for economic development. A documentation of institutional innovation by state and local government, this volume shows how governments--across the United Statesuare working with private sector financiers, thereby allowing private intermediaries to invest in new enterprises. With contributions by highly qualified practitioners and academics, this volume is appropriate for professionals as well as for upper division undergraduate and graduate students in urban studies, public administration, and policy studies. "The book provides useful information by presenting a considerable number of institutional arrangements and showing the immense variety of approaches to economic development on the state and local level. The latter aspect is particularly fascinating for readers from countries with a less fragmented government than the United States." --Journal of Evolutionary Economics "Although there have been a plethora of publications on economic development, this book is a useful addition to the body of literature on the subject. The book provides some useful examples and case studies of private-sector participation, which, of course, is the goal of most economic development programs." --Government Finance Review