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Just Growth: Inclusion and Prosperity in America ’ s Metropolitan Regions

Just Growth: Inclusion and Prosperity in America ’ s Metropolitan Regions. By Chris Benner, Associate Professor UC Davis July 26, 2012. Thanks to: Ford Foundation, Manuel Pastor and entire PERE/USC staff, Rosa Ramirez and Mateusz Filipski. Outline.

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Just Growth: Inclusion and Prosperity in America ’ s Metropolitan Regions

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  1. Just Growth: Inclusion and Prosperity in America’s Metropolitan Regions By Chris Benner, Associate Professor UC Davis July 26, 2012 Thanks to: Ford Foundation, Manuel Pastor and entire PERE/USC staff, Rosa Ramirez and Mateusz Filipski

  2. Outline Background: links between social equity and economic growth in regions • Just Growth project: studying why and how equity is linked with growth at regional scale • Conclusions: Implications for planning

  3. Equity and efficiency trade-offs? • Conventional wisdom in economics • Need for large-scale investment • Shift from low to high productivity • Incentives and motivation • New equity and growth synergies? • Keynesian economics • Countries in the Global south • Regions in the U.S.

  4. Equity Matters at Regional Scale • City-Suburb income gaps associated with stagnation in regional income and jobs (Savitch et al. 1993) • Per capita income growth faster where poverty gaps and segregation lower (Pastor et al. 2000) • Racial inclusion and equality strongest predictor of four different measures of regional growth (Austrian et al. 2007) • Relationship between equity and growth is stronger in ‘weak-market’ regions than fast growth regions (Pastor and Benner 2008) • Income inequality associated with lower savings rates (linked with financial and social distress, including bankruptcies, high commute times, divorce) (Frank et al. 2010)

  5. Fund for our Economic Future 136 Metro areas, 4 growth measures, 9 broad indicators with 38 different variables Source: Fund for our Economic Future, North East Ohio http://www.futurefundneo.org/en/~/media/Files/Research/2007%20Dashboard%20of%20Economic%20Indicators.ashx

  6. Just Growth key questions • Why is equity linked with growth? • How are ‘just growth’ regions able to link growth with equity? • Steps in the analysis • Identify just growth regions • Quantitative analysis of factors predicting just growth • In-depth case studies

  7. Identifying just growth regions… Quadrant analysis: total of 72 national, and 72 in each of four census divisions, with little consistency

  8. Index of growth and equity 1980-2000

  9. Index of growth and equity 1980-2000

  10. Testing for characteristics associated with Just Growth • Multiple variables: • Employment/industrial composition (9) • Geographic and distributional dimensions (8) • Workforce demographics and housing (7) • Interest in regional growth and/or justice (2) • Multiple models • Simple correlations • Multivariate regressions • Logit models

  11. Just Growth Factors…1 • Diversified economy • State capital • Nashville, Columbus, Denver, Sacramento • Public sector employment • Jacksonville, Sacramento • Construction • Denver—link with public investment • Manufacturing negatively correlated • Regional government/governance • Jacksonville, Nashville City/County Mergers • Kansas City MARC

  12. Just Growth Factors…2 • Small portions of poorly educated population • Better predictor of just growth than high portions of highly educated population • Minority Middle Class • Nashville

  13. Building diverse epistemic communities • Like-minded networks of professionals whose authoritative claim to consensual knowledge provides them with unique source of power in decision-making processes. Processes of interaction (interpretation, knowledge generation, action) often institutionalized when there’s a need for repeated interactions over extended periods of time • In short: What you know and who you know it with • Exemplary diverse examples • Jurisdictional ties • Leadership Nashville • Jacksonville Community Council Inc.

  14. Founded in 1976, mostly volunteer, 1 staff • Annual cohort chosen from applicants and nominations to represent full diversity of the region • $200 to participate, and scholarships available • Monthly day-long discussions focused on issues in Nashville • Government & Media • Education • Business & Labor • Diversity • Quality of Life • Criminal Justice • Arts & entertainment • More than 200 alumni involved in hosting, planning, sponsoring, participating in events • No positions! Safe, sustained, deliberative dialogue

  15. Founded in 1975 • Multi-faceted community/participatory “think-tank” • One of the earliest annual indicator projects • Annual studies on particular topics • Volunteer citizen task force, facilitated by staff • Broad consultative process • Consensus based recommendations for action • Broadly shared priorities and sense of common destiny

  16. Conclusions • Clear correlations between equity and growth within regions • Steady, ‘unspectacular’, collaborative regions producing long-term success • No silver bullet, but also diversity of opportunities—key is ties that help shape common destiny

  17. Thank you! ccbenner@ucdavis.edu http://Justgrowth.org

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