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The Role of Local Development Organizations in Rural America *
Author(s) -
Green Gary Paul,
Haines Anna,
Dunn Adam,
Sullivan Daniel Monroe
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
rural sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.083
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1549-0831
pISSN - 0036-0112
DOI - 10.1111/j.1549-0831.2002.tb00110.x
Subject(s) - local economic development , local development , business development , business , local government , economic growth , economic geography , regional science , economics , political science , public administration , marketing , sociology
Rural communities rely increasingly on local development organizations (LDOs) to promote economic development. The rise of LDOs has been the source of much debate. Using a national data set that links local governments with development organizations, we contrast the economic development activities, and their outcomes, of local governments and development organizations in rural America. We find that LDOs are involved in more economic development activities than are local governments. They are more successful at business recruitment and more effective at retention/expansion, both in number of firms and in jobs. The organizational networks of LDOs and local governments consistently influence their effectiveness. Finally, we examine the effects of an LDO's presence on the outcomes of business recruitment and of retention and expansion activities. The results suggest that the LDOs' success may be due in part to the networks in which they are embedded and to the amount of effort they make to promote growth.