Research note – network collaboration in economic development: who participates?

Abstract

Local economic development research assumes that the policy-making process does not happen in a vacuum containing only government officials. The process consists of collaboration between various community actors within a network in pursuit of economic policy goals. However, little empirical work has been done in the past decade to understand which actors have the strongest statistically significant relationships with local officials’ planning of economic development policy. This research note explores the gap by using descriptive statistics and phi coefficient analysis with data from the International City/County Management Association’s 2009 Economic Development Survey-South Region. Findings from the southern United States show that city governments have significant relationships, ranging from weak to moderately strong, with county governments, colleges and universities, and chambers of commerce. Interestingly, cities did not have significant relationships with economic development corporations, state governments, or the federal government in their economic development pursuits.