Our latest research assesses Metro Milwaukee's progress on a range of metrics associated with knowledge and innovation. We find our region has made strides in increasing educational attainment levels and adding scientists, engineers, and technology workers to the regional talent pool. Yet, the news is not as encouraging with regard to…

This volume is part of a series that is designed to promote stronger ties between the educational resources in the Northeast and Midwest and the economic development process. The discussion identifies steps that businesses, education communities, and public policymakers can take to define literacy standards and raise basic competency levels in…

The economic role of counties is changing profoundly because of a revolutionary restructuring of the world economy and related changes in federalism. Three major forces are restructuring the economy: overcapacity in traditional industries, the emergence of new technologies that are creating new service and knowledge-based industries and…

This issue paper presents three very different views of the roles that government, job training, and economic development programs play within society. The paper is meant to stimulate discussion among training and employment and community and economic development professionals; it focuses on job retention and emphasizes the role of counties in the…

"Industrial policy" is an ambiguous term; however, diverse elements of our society can agree that "industrial policy" can be thought of as a combination of all the policies and practices that affect or are the consequences of a nation's ability to compete--policies and practices in the areas of international trade, capital investment,…

This issue paper, meant to stimulate discussion within the employment and training community, offers three different perspectives on improving conditions in rural areas. However, all of these perspectives share common themes: a belief in the ability of rural areas to recover economically, a commitment to ensuring that this occurs, and the use of…

To determine the role of vocational education in enhancing private sector productivity in the Sedalia, Missouri area, the feasibility of a program to assist business and industry in productivity awareness, assessment, and improvement was evaluated. Based on data from six area business and industry representatives who agreed to complete a survey…

A conference dealing with new enterprise and economic development initiatives today, Project NEED IT was designed to familiarize decision makers at all levels of the public, private, and educational sectors with the best new enterprise development projects being carried out in the United States today. During the conference, a series of papers and…

An economic development model was formulated to foster and strengthen commerce and industry retention and expansion in the state of Illinois. The main thrust of the model was on increasing productivity, decreasing business failures, encouraging entrepreneurship, and creating a favorable business climate through community support. To meet these…