As the twig is bent: pre-Civil War migration and political culture

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Chapter 2 in A History of American State and Local Economic Development, 2017, pp 32-57 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The chapter opens by contrasting Penn’s Privatist Pennsylvania and Philadelphia with Winthrop’s Progressive Massachusetts and Boston economic development (ED) evolution through 1820. The importance of political structures (such as state/colonial constitutions, corporate charters, principles of administration and relationships between state and municipality) and how each is shaped by the values of its elite cultures is discussed. From the beginning, ED displays a division between two macro cultures/approaches, each with its own priorities, goals, tools and programs. The chapter’s second theme is the interaction of population mobility (a driver of economic development policy) with economic development structures and cultural values/priorities of migrants. Migrations discussed include the Yankee Diaspora, Scotch-Irish, and Deep South planter/Cotton Belt. Irish and German immigration is also considered. The impact of cultural migration on ED-relevant structures such as form of government, propensity to urbanize, sector/industry innovation and policy priorities are stressed. The reader is introduced to the importance of initial city-building to economic development. By 1850 it is clear that three distinct regions exist (North/Midwest, South and West), and each displays its own shared patterns and goals. From the foundation of the American Republic the practice of economic development reflects the region in which one works and lives. Each region possesses its distinctive cultural values, demographic composition, jurisdictional economic base configuration and period of initial settlement. Each region demonstrates different styles of city-building; produces different jurisdictional policy systems/outputs; and different actors participate in policy-making.

Keywords: Economics and Finance; Politics and Public Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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