Is there an official definition of economic development?
No. Perhaps the next best thing to looking for an official
definition is to find the one that is most universally accepted. There
is a problem there too ... and for good reason: The
problem is that many, many definitions are available. The reason is
that economic development is defined for the specific purpose to which
it
is applicable.
For example,
a place
seeking economic development needs jobs for its laborforce. There
economic development is seen as an at job
creation effort. Job creation
is the operative
phrase. That being the case, The
Network offers its collection of various definitions of economic development that
altogether contain the operative words, phrases, and expressions that
make it
possible for you to satisfactory answer the question: What is the
definition of economic development?
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Who first came up with the phrase economic development?
Joseph Schumpeter. See information about The
Contribution of Joseph Schumpeter to Economics: Economic Development and
Institutional
Change by
Richard Arena and Cécile Dangel-Hagnauer at www.questia.com (source).
Schumpeter coined the term economic development when he wrote The Theory
of Economic Development in 1911. More
information under the definition of industrial revolution in the .network glossary.
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Who provides professional recognition for economic development practitioners?
Nothing beats experience or recognition by economic
development prospects.
Basic economic development courses and
advanced academic instruction are available to prepare the practitioner. The Industrial
Development Institute at the University
of Oklahoma/Norman was where advanced preparation began in North America
(1962).
The American Industrial Development Council introduced
an Advanced
Symposium
in 1965 which
was integrated into the IDI Year III program in 1989 after AIDC became AEDC and
the Institute became EDI (Economic Development Institute).
In the mid-1970s
a certification was tacked
on to the Institute program. Certification continues today through
the International
Economic Development Council. Recognition of professional
achievement
by economic developers, referred to as area and local development
contacts by The
Network, was provided the the International
Development Research Council during the last 20 years of that
organization's existence. IDRC recognition was awarded for outstanding,
as opposed to academic, achievement in
the form of a Associate Master Professional designation (example).
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Who knows the economic development/site selection relationship best?
The combination of area
and local representatives and site
selectors working or regularly
networking with
each other. Accessing the following items will lead to more
information: (1) Getting
Started/The
Site Selection Directory;
(2) Economic
Development/the
library; (3) the .network mission
statement; and (3) the answer to the question
about the organization of IDRC.
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Who was the original site
selection consultant?
Felix Fantus started up a site
selection consulting business around 1920 after
relocating his company see Bidding
for Economic Development: The Role of Site Location Consultants by
Maria Khan. Fantus' consulting firm refined such procedures as gathering information,
conducting feasibility studies, and dealing with places under
consideration. Fantus consultants were most likely the first advocates for
standardizing the presentation of location
data.
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Who organized the first association giving economic developers the
opportunity to network with corporate real estate executives?
Mac Conway (McKinley Conway), who introduced a magazine dedicated
to location/site selection in 1954, organized a meeting of a group of
real estate professionals working for major companies at the beginning
of the 1960s. Discussion about a need for research to support planning
for facilities expansion and industrial relocations as well as organizing
and presenting site
selection data in a standardized form. The meeting Conway organized
resulted in the creation of the Industrial
Development Research Council. IDRC allowed economic developers to
join as associates in order for members to have a pool of contacts available.
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What is the North American Economic Development Model?
Generally, its the same as the western economic development model which
is described by Lester
Brown as a ...
fossil-fuel-based, automobile-centered, throwaway economy. One North
American model is extractable, although not specifically offered as such,
from the website
of Industry Canada, which is a department of the National Government.
The Mexican model
is binational and tied to improving the status of low-skilled workers.
The model includes efforts to break down all barriers to US trade and investment
in Mexico, including the integration of the latter's workforce into that
of US on the same as if all were Mexican
Americans.
The US economic development model is reflected by the lobbying efforts
of the International Economic
Development Council and its certification program for member practitioners.
Woven through all of the above comments is the suggestion of a relationship
between economic development and politics. Ted Levine, a guru of economic
development marketing once observed that the
great practitioners understand that the process includes politics.
Searches of the Web for the phrase "North American economic development
model" have thus far produced nothing other than what you see
here. On the other hand searches for "economic development model" have
produce pages of results. Copy and paste the italicized phrases in this
paragraph at the top of this page, keeping the quotation
marks intact, then search the Web for more information; also see the definition
of "political and economic development model" in
the Enterprise and
Economic Development Glossary.
Links for additional information about economic development modeling:
http://abec.unm.edu/resources/about_abec/Mondragon_ED_Model.pdf
http://my3rivers.org/economic_model.html
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Whose idea was it to publishing site selection criteria on the Web
and sold access to the information to economic developers?
Craig Throckmorton introduced Plant
Site Locators online in the 1990s. He operated as an information
broker and charged a fee to those who wanted to view selection
criteria. At about the same time, The
Network was introduced with its Site
Selection Directory. Unlike PSL, The
Network provided
free-access to resources and
offered a
unique search promise. The
Directory published project announcements, including selection criteria, for
free and access was free. The Network and its SSD continues in operation. PSL
no longer exists.
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Who created the first site selection data brokerage on the Web?
... arguably, a fellow named Marc
Bailey when he put together the American
Community Network. We (who
we are) lost contact with Bailey
after he had a brief association with Field Media of Alpharetta,
GA in the late 1990s. At about the same
time the owner of Field Media stated that Mac Conway was
his competitor as a data
broker.
Mac Conway founded an association in
the 1960s which allowed him to furnished economic
development data to a membership, thus making it problematic
as to whether he should be credited as a true data broker. It became
easier to argue in favor of Conway being credited as the first data
broker when his enterprise became involved with the development
alliance that organized Site
Selection Data Standards for the International Economic Development
Council and partnered
with the association as its location information data
broker.
Disclaimer: Zoom
Information, Inc of Waltham, MA at one time listed Marc
Bailey or Roswell, GA as associated with Economic Development Services, Inc.
Not true!
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Who was the site selector for Disneyland and Walt Disney World?
Harrison (Buzz) Price of the Harrison Price Company was recognized in 1995
by the International Association of
Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) for his handling of hundreds of
feasibility and site selection projects
around the world including Disneyland (Anaheim, CA) and Disney World (Orlando,
FL).
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Who managed prospecting and prospect services when
Robert E. Leak, Sr. of North Carolina directed the operations of the South
Carolina State Development Board
Bob Leak succeeded Milton
Folds as SCDB director in the mid-1970s. Folds had hired Robert
E. (Bob) Glover from Tennessee and put him in charge of prospect
development and in-state site
location assistance. Glover remained
in the position for 10 years throughout most of Leak's tenure. During his
last couple of years of working for Leak, Glover organized
and directed South Carolina's first computerized economic development management
system.
From that he gained the experience and vision that allowed his to create
The Network in
1996.
Use the
Global Registry of Contacts online to access more information
about Bob Leak. Search either for his name or location which is
Raleigh, NC. The SCDB is today the South
Carolina Department of Commerce. More information about Fold
in the paragraph below.
W. Milton Folds become the head of the Georgia
Department of Industry and Trade in 1977now
the Department of Economic Development (2004). Folds was an outstanding
professional in the field of industrial development for many years. He developed successful
working relationships with corporate leaders at the highest levels. He
retired from economic development to become an senior executive with Kimberly-Clark,
where he was in charge of site
selection.
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