Stan Sorscher, EOI Board Member
Guest post by Stan Sorscher (cross-posted from Huffington Post)
Let’s look at public policies for economic development that help us recover from the recession.
In one view of economic development, the role of government is to “make business succeed.” In this view, government should get out of the way and let markets find the most efficient outcome.
An alternative view of economic development is that government policies should raise our standard of living. In this view, government plays an active role in devising trade and industrial policies that attract investment, build industrial capacity, and create good jobs that build the middle class. And make business succeed.
To be sure, markets are powerful and efficient, but markets fail. In particular, markets fail to serve non-economic interests — not just the environment, human rights, labor rights, and public health, but markets also under-invest in R&D, education, physical infrastructure and social safety nets.
Globalization has sharpened the difference in these two approaches, by de-coupling investor and business interests from the public interest. If investors are global in their outlook, then the interests of America dim from view.
In a global economy where national boundaries are blurred, we need to think about trade and industrial policies that work for America. A year ago, I mentioned 4 policies that would help reconnect the interests of investors with public interests and communities. Here are four more.
Filed under: EOI, state economy, business, economic development, Employment, export-import bank, globalization, government, higher education, industrial bonds, markets, policy, public good, public interest, recession, tax incentives, united states, worker training
In my family, probably like yours, one of our Thanksgiving dinner traditions is to go around the table and say what we are thankful for. It’s an important reminder of how lucky we are to have our friends and family with us.
