In the United States, the economic gaps between thriving metropolitan areas and lagging regions have widened. Growing cities have been able to take advantage of globalization, trade, and automation, while other cities and rural areas have suffered persistent joblessness and progressive social dislocation over several decades.
Place-based policies are meant to create jobs, raise productivity and wages, foster new industries and upgrade the economic structure of specific regions. These policies can help arrest declines and revitalize places that have been left behind. The modern practice of place-based strategies involves an expansive policy portfolio comprising business recruitment, workforce development, community redevelopment, small business promotion, and technological innovation.
At the Reimagining the Economy Project, we study the economic conditions in local labor markets, unpack how place-based policies work and what effects they have. We also study local experimentation and practice.
What we’re doing
- Conducting research: Investigating the impact of economic changes on local labor markets, place-based policies, and the work of local economic development intermediaries.
- Creating a data visualization platform: Gathering and presenting data on local economic conditions, writing and hosting commentary on particular places and trends, and collecting a systematic body of evidence on place-based economic development on our .
- Convening Experts: Gathering local policymakers and practitioners from around the country to learn from local experimentation and experiences, and hosting communities of practice with local economic development leaders.