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Mark D. Partridge and Dan S. Rickman |
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Do We Know Economic Development When We See It? |
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The Review of Regional Studies 2003 33(1): 17-39.
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Abstract:
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Considerable ambiguity exists regarding the assessment of regional economic development.
Alternative measures often produce conflicting conclusions. Even if economic development
progress is defined as improvement in economic welfare, it is not directly measurable.
Therefore, this paper develops a theoretical framework that explores the potential linkages
between regional utility and commonly used economic measures. State trends in these measures
are then examined for the 1990s and related to the theoretical framework. The exercise reveals
that no single measure should be preferred in assessing economic development, although it is
possible to separate strong performers from weak performers.
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