Although I meet more economic developers these days who are beginning to understand the world is changing (a good thing), I usually find after a brief conversation with them that many of them are determined to keep doing the same old thing--they just expect different results now (one definition of insanity). Part of the problem is a belief that nothing much has really changed, but articles like this one in the Wall Street Journal suggest otherwise. The Journal reports that of the twenty-five largest IPOs (Initial Public Offerings of stock) in the world last year, only one took place in the United States. Lethargic U.S. companies and over-zealous regulation in the wake of things like the Enron scandal are leaving the U.S. behind in the global Knowledge Economy.
Local communities are competing with Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, and even London for business, but too many economic developers and community leaders are stubbornly determined to ignore the data. I see unlimited opportunities for communities that are willing to make some changes, but some communities, especially in rural areas, are going to slowly wither away.