Privatism and the Limits of Local Economic Development Policy

Abstract

Contemporary local economic development policies reflect an underlying commitment to privatism—to enhancing and enlarging the role of the private sector in urban regeneration. In this study we challenge conventional expectations about the benefits of local economic development policies that are based on this commitment. Our analysis supports a set of propositions that define common limitations of the local economic development policies pursued in the 1970s and 1980s. We expect such limitations whenever privatism is accepted as the framework for urban development and regeneration policies.