What is Economic Development?

Lawrence W. Reed hits another home run with his article entitled "The Perversion of Economic Development."  This article was originally published in February of 1996, and recently appeared on the FEE website.  This is just another example of how timeless these economic truths really are.  With all this talk in the news about how the government should come to our rescue by stimulating the economy, we might forget what true economic development is.

"In recent decades, economic development has come to mean something other than the spontaneous, entrepreneurial phenomenon that built America. It is often thought of as a kind of activist, public-policy responsibility of state and local governments...."

"The bottom line is what every American with a good sense of history really ought to know: economic development is what happens when government protects life and property and otherwise leaves us alone."  (emphasis added) Click here to read the entire article.