One major point that I got from this reading was how complicated local economic development is, making the formulation and implementation of policies incredibly difficult. While the article begins with some discussion about what prevents programs from starting in the first place, the vast majority is a discussion on the many aspects that must be considered to have success, including an understanding of who benefits from development and unintended consequences, a shift in the balance of imports and exports, greater productivity of the labor, utilization of local resources, a comprehensive strategy, targeting of businesses with the greatest potential, job training, and involvement of a variety of groups. Each of these aspects is discussed in detail to explain how different local areas may see different levels of success, making results highly dependent on the specific factors of the area. Additionally, research must be conducted before programs are implemented to gain a better understanding of the conditions as well as after implementation to understanding whether they have been effective.
I found this article to be useful in thinking about community because of the critical dependence on knowing the area. The type of land, the groups interested in being involved in development, and so many other factors completely change the intervention approach, and success with an intervention in one area does not mean the same program would be successful in another. It is critical for us as community-level social workers to have a full understanding of the areas we work with in order to help bring greater prosperity. Additionally, an understanding of how anything from a small, independent business to government policy will impact the economic stability of the area. Without some understanding of how each of these involved actors plays a role in development, we could completely overlook major flaws in the design for our community. What local government policies has your community group run into that have impacted the area’s economic development? Is economic development an aspect of community social work that you have thought about in your work so far this semester? What obstacles might exist in your community that prevent further development? Does it seem that there is a significant disparity in who benefits from development?
Katherine, The information above is definitely helping me think about the bigger picture of an intervention's effectiveness. Unintended consequences, interested groups, who directly benefits, and are who indirectly benefits are the issues that jumped out of your writing. Thank you, Cheri
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