Nine Fallacies of Local Economic Change

Abstract

This article examines current literature dealing with local economic change and concludes that there are serious confusions extant within that material. Nine specific fallacies are identified, and these are grouped into three distinct categories. In the first instance, definitional problems of time and space are dealt with, notably the assumptions that local economic initiatives are a recent phenomenon. The second group of fallacies examined includes discussion of the possibility of creating jobs, the political imperatives faced by local jurisdictions, and the extent to which local economic initiatives may benefit a specific locality. The third grouping extends the latter idea, and considers the nature of local economies within broader political and world economy contexts. The article concludes with an outline of how local economic development might be more successfully examined.