Goals for the day:
· Clarity on what economic development is about, how it relates to our project, and essential questions
· Identify their initial beliefs and affinities when it comes to economic development
We started the day looking at this video of economic development efforts in Detroit. The video features three different economic development projects: housing redevelopment in Midtown, a neighborhood garden and business incubation effort in the Brightmoor neighborhoods, and the re-purposing of vacant downtown skyscrapers by a large company. After watching to the video, I asked everyone to journal on which project for them held the most appeal and why.
Next we broke down into groups. I gave each group one of four case studies of economic development with the charge of answering questions on this worksheet. The last three questions on this sheet you were supposed to enter into this Google Doc so I could project them. The case study all take a different approach to strengthening the economy: encouraging entrepreneurs in Portland, giving a neighborhood a facelift in Washington D.C., providing workforce training in Milwaukee, and using the arts to revitalize a small town in Minnesota
During the share-out, we discussed how these things related to strengthening the economy.
But how do you measure economic progress? Your answers in the Google doc provided some ideas. But most of the time when we talk about measuring economic performance we talk about "economic growth." After break, I asked in Four Corners whether "economic growth is good." Everyone was on the agree side....because it gives more money to everyone, it provides for an increasing population, and can reduce poverty.
What's the problem? Here is a quote from John Stuart Mill to consider:
"...the increase of wealth is not boundless. The end of growth leads to a stationary state. The stationary state of capital and wealth… would be a very considerable improvement on our present condition...a stationary condition of capital and population implies no stationary state of human improvement. There would be as much scope as ever for all kinds of mental culture, and moral and social progress; as much room for improving the art of living, and much more likelihood of it being improved, when minds ceased to be engrossed by the art of getting on."
Some argue that, despite technological advances that increase efficiency, there are limits to growth. With growth we use up natural resources and produce waste. Growth can increase inequality depending on who benefits from growth, who's in charge, and what the growth is based on. These economists argue for a "steady state" economy that at a certain point stabilizes around an equilibrium.
The second question for Four Corners was whether Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the best way to evaluate our economy. Everyone disagreed, as Riley said, because there's more to evaluating an economy than just how much money it generates.
Then, why is GDP so important? These slides give a definition and a few things to know about how we calculate GDP. Most rely on GDP because it's straightforward and simple to measure and it doesn't deal with subjective "feelings."
Is economic development and economic growth the same thing? Look again at your definitions from the case studies of economic development in the Google Doc (Question 3). They imply growth in business and jobs but not necessarily an increase in productivity. They imply a strengthening of relationships as well.
Economic development is very much about the world we want to create. And so these questions about what is economic progress and how you measure it are for each of you to decide.
For the final activity, I gave your small group a list of potential economic indicators and asked you to pick the ones that you would include in your own economic index. One group included only financial indicators that could be reduced to money. Other groups included things like educational achievement (human capital), ecological footprint (natural capital), and civic participation (social capital). Recall that "capital" is one of the fundamental factors of production for an economy. These other things are harder to measure but they contribute to productivity.
As you move forward with your economic development proposal, you will have to decide what your economic development goals are, how this relates or doesn't relate to growth or GDP, and how you'll measure your progress.
Homework due on Tuesday, February 3rd
Read the section of Quest for the Golden Circle and my notes from Rocky Mountain Boomtown that you picked up on the way out of class. Note one fact or event that relates to economic development of the Durango area and take note on one other thing you think is important about our history. We are going to build an economic timeline tomorrow, so you understand where this community has come from and where it's going.
· Clarity on what economic development is about, how it relates to our project, and essential questions
· Identify their initial beliefs and affinities when it comes to economic development
We started the day looking at this video of economic development efforts in Detroit. The video features three different economic development projects: housing redevelopment in Midtown, a neighborhood garden and business incubation effort in the Brightmoor neighborhoods, and the re-purposing of vacant downtown skyscrapers by a large company. After watching to the video, I asked everyone to journal on which project for them held the most appeal and why.
Next we broke down into groups. I gave each group one of four case studies of economic development with the charge of answering questions on this worksheet. The last three questions on this sheet you were supposed to enter into this Google Doc so I could project them. The case study all take a different approach to strengthening the economy: encouraging entrepreneurs in Portland, giving a neighborhood a facelift in Washington D.C., providing workforce training in Milwaukee, and using the arts to revitalize a small town in Minnesota
During the share-out, we discussed how these things related to strengthening the economy.
But how do you measure economic progress? Your answers in the Google doc provided some ideas. But most of the time when we talk about measuring economic performance we talk about "economic growth." After break, I asked in Four Corners whether "economic growth is good." Everyone was on the agree side....because it gives more money to everyone, it provides for an increasing population, and can reduce poverty.
What's the problem? Here is a quote from John Stuart Mill to consider:
"...the increase of wealth is not boundless. The end of growth leads to a stationary state. The stationary state of capital and wealth… would be a very considerable improvement on our present condition...a stationary condition of capital and population implies no stationary state of human improvement. There would be as much scope as ever for all kinds of mental culture, and moral and social progress; as much room for improving the art of living, and much more likelihood of it being improved, when minds ceased to be engrossed by the art of getting on."
Some argue that, despite technological advances that increase efficiency, there are limits to growth. With growth we use up natural resources and produce waste. Growth can increase inequality depending on who benefits from growth, who's in charge, and what the growth is based on. These economists argue for a "steady state" economy that at a certain point stabilizes around an equilibrium.
The second question for Four Corners was whether Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the best way to evaluate our economy. Everyone disagreed, as Riley said, because there's more to evaluating an economy than just how much money it generates.
Then, why is GDP so important? These slides give a definition and a few things to know about how we calculate GDP. Most rely on GDP because it's straightforward and simple to measure and it doesn't deal with subjective "feelings."
Is economic development and economic growth the same thing? Look again at your definitions from the case studies of economic development in the Google Doc (Question 3). They imply growth in business and jobs but not necessarily an increase in productivity. They imply a strengthening of relationships as well.
Economic development is very much about the world we want to create. And so these questions about what is economic progress and how you measure it are for each of you to decide.
For the final activity, I gave your small group a list of potential economic indicators and asked you to pick the ones that you would include in your own economic index. One group included only financial indicators that could be reduced to money. Other groups included things like educational achievement (human capital), ecological footprint (natural capital), and civic participation (social capital). Recall that "capital" is one of the fundamental factors of production for an economy. These other things are harder to measure but they contribute to productivity.
As you move forward with your economic development proposal, you will have to decide what your economic development goals are, how this relates or doesn't relate to growth or GDP, and how you'll measure your progress.
Homework due on Tuesday, February 3rd
Read the section of Quest for the Golden Circle and my notes from Rocky Mountain Boomtown that you picked up on the way out of class. Note one fact or event that relates to economic development of the Durango area and take note on one other thing you think is important about our history. We are going to build an economic timeline tomorrow, so you understand where this community has come from and where it's going.