We argue that the broader economic and political context for place-based policymaking has changed dramatically in the last few years. After providing a definition of place-based policy and underscoring its distinctiveness as a process-oriented approach to addressing the plight of distressed economic areas, we outline the significant changes in context, both exogenous and endogenous to the region, that have occurred. Specifically, shifts in the international economy, which include regionalization, rising protectionism, and disruptions to global supply chains, have complicated the tasks of place-based policymakers. Accompanying these economic changes are political challenges, consisting of a renewed emphasis on national competitiveness and growing political polarization in distressed areas, that may hamper long-range efforts to develop place-based economic development strategies. After demonstrating how the changing exogenous and endogenous context complicates the goals of place-based policymaking, we recommend a set of priorities for local and regional actors that include expanding the knowledge base on which such initiatives are built, developing institutionalized capacity for policy delivery, and forging overt ties to political parties in order to increase the resilience and durability of place-based policy initiatives by creating a valence issue among the major political parties in the system.
Authors Jeffrey Anderson and Andy Westwood