Abstract
The Reese and Rosenfeld analysis of the conventional wisdom about economic development is important and timely. They correctly argue that research has not yielded a set of unequivocal laws, general truths, or first principles regarding local economic development. However, in their enthusiasm to arrive at their conclusion, they overstate the problem, and they overlook methodological advances in the field. Over the past 15 years, researchers have produced findings that clarify and fine-tune a dynamic and complex process. Furthermore, the Reese and Rosenfeld prescription—to focus on the unique civic culture of a community as the explanatory variable—takes inquiry in the wrong direction.
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