Local Policy Responses to Globalization: Place‐Based Ownership Models of Economic Enterprise

Abstract

The destabilizing forces wrought by economic globalization increasingly buffet local communities throughout America. This article explores a local policy strategy for coping with the effects of these forces and restoring some degree of stability to local economies. This strategy entails the creation of place‐based ownership models of economic enterprise. With ownership and control held in a more collective or community‐oriented fashion, such enterprises tend to anchor or root investment more securely in communities, providing a counterforce to globalization. We present and critically assess six place‐based ownership models while providing illustrative examples to demonstrate how each model can work in practice.