The Employment Fulcrum: Evaluating Local Economic Performance

Abstract

This article considers two aspects of publicly reported macroevaluations of local economies: the emphasis on job growth and the problematic relationship among the desired outcomes of local economic performance. At issue is the extent to which a jobs focus is either deceptive or in some other way detracts from our understanding of how local economies work. The purpose of this investigation is to create more sensitivity to the representational and political qualities of macroevaluations. Data from New York City are used to illustrate the argument.