State efforts to boost the economy--economic development--first came to Pennsylvania in the 1950s with the establishment of the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority (PIDA) low interest loan program used to recruit manufacturers to Pennsylvania, including devastated coal regions. Since that time, economic development in Pennsylvania and…

"The Road to Recovery: Projecting U.S. Job Growth and Higher Education Demand through 2020" (this issue, p26-29) presented six key indicators that highlighted the latest in education and employment needs for the success of the future jobs market. While the U.S. economy is growing, questions still remain: What skills do employers value…

In the past decade, economic development experts have moved away from traditional approaches to economic development that have relied upon recruiting or attracting large businesses with offers of tax breaks, financial incentives, and other subsidies. Increasingly, communities are focusing their economic development resources on supporting the…

"Linking Workforce Development to Economic Development: A Casebook for Community Colleges" is a compilation of best practice examples, which illustrate what it takes for community colleges to achieve their goal of helping people acquire education and skills, helping employers, supporting communities, and building the nation. The book is…

The Northwest Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission, a local development district based in Venango County, focuses on nourishing small business development and entrepreneurship in business incubators owned by local governments. One of the region's resources is the nation's first "teaching factory," which provides job…

Outlines an educational process designed to help provide communities with economic, social, and political information using community economic impact modeling. Describes the process of community meetings using economic impact, community demographics, and fiscal impact modules and the local preconditions that help make the process successful. (SK)

Analysis of survey data from 539 community leaders in 120 rural Pennsylvania school districts found that, when the effects of need and socioeconomic and ecological characteristics were controlled, past community action and community solidarity had significant effects on adoption of various local economic development strategies. (TD)

Conference papers on community development problems and prospects deal with needs, methods, objectives, resources, and the role of universities, with particular reference to urban areas. Concerns include deficiencies in knowledge, leadership, government, and the quality of urban life; land use and urban design; principles of economic development…

This article examines the "My True Voice Project," a mentorship-based program that uses principles of theater education to teach students effective oral communication skills. This project offers a unique model for how arts education can teach children vital thinking skills, strengthen traditional skills, and build community. As such, the…

Based on the results of a lot-owner survey and on data from public records and other sources relative to the development of a second-home community in Lake Latonka, Pennsylvania (begun in 1964 and sold out in 1966), economic impacts were estimated by applying appropriate income multipliers to reported use and development expenditures. It was…

Erie, Pennsylvania's Total Quality Management Institute has successfully applied total quality management concepts and techniques in businesses, a nonprofit hospital, and a school district as part of a long-term economic development plan. School district strategies have included distributing children's books to new parents, involving teachers in…