How to fix a town's economy?

Question

I have to write a paper on a problem in my town's economy, and then analyze the problem and find a solution......I'm totally clueless when it some to economics!!!

Answer 1

Here's an idea that shows how one community in Oregon went about solving an economic problem. It should get your creative juices flowing...

http://www.rdiinc.org/region_study.html

You might also check out heartland.org and see if they have any projects listed. Both RDI and Heartland specialize in helping small rural communities that have economic problems find solutions to them. Searching on these terms in Google should bring up projects that are either in progress or that have been completed. You can them adapt them to a problem in your area and give you ideas on how to solve them.

Answer 2

There are many ideas for small town economic development. The geographic size and population of the town will also have a major impact on any plan.

Some towns and cities give land to companies with tax deferments for up to 10-years. They require companies to build new facilities on that land that employ local people within a specified timeframe. If the company defaults on building the facility the town takes the land back and does not reimburse the company for any expense they may have incurred including improvements to the land. This is very effective in getting high tech companies to move to small towns. These companies also bring new people. The new people also help the local economy by increasing demand for housing, goods and services.

Keep in mind with development come problems associated with growth. Schools, hospitals, social services, trash, sewage and more have to be considered when developing a plan. There will also be impacts on the local ecology and culture.

Here is a link to one small town’s plan:

http://www.oswegocountybusiness.com/index.php?a=593

Good luck on your assignment.