Promoting Economic Development

Abstract

The authors use survey and census data to compare the economic development policies of central cities, suburbs, and nonmetropolitan communities. Regional competition is strongly associated with the number of development programs adopted by all three types of communities, but several important differences exist among them. Central-city governments are most active in promoting development, with population size exerting a positive influence on development activities. For suburbs, the poverty rate is positively related to development effort. In nonmetropolitan communities, involvement by the city government in economic development exhibits a strong positive relationship with the number of development programs adopted.