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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Debates in local economic development policy and practice
Author:Bond, PatrickISNI
Year:2003
Periodical:Urban Forum
Volume:14
Issue:2-3
Pages:147-164
Language:English
Geographic term:South Africa
Subjects:local politics
urban development
municipal government
External link:https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12132-003-0008-7
Abstract:Washington's advice to developing countries - entailing rigid nation-State adherence to 'neoliberal' (free-market) dictates, often enforced by IMF, World Bank and the international financial markets - has invariably contributed to rising poverty and inequality, in both macroeconomic and microdevelopmental spheres. This review of cutting-edge debates in local economic development (LED) concludes, especially in relation to the policy and practice of South Africa, that the 'Washington Consensus' epoch of export-led growth and ruinous competition may be drawing to a close, and with it, the need to focus more on pro-poor and sustainable development will mean that municipal constituents will demand a more active and community-focused LED strategy. Numerous developmental tools have been established to promote LED, along with redistributive strategies that are genuinely pro-poor, but just as important are the various nondevelopmental strategies - such as the Spatial Development Initiative (SDI), Industrial Development Zones (IDZs) and Export Processing Zones (EPZs) - that also have to be more widely debated. Moreover, introducing 'public goods' aspects of municipal services as an explicit strategic orientation offers a way to assure that the upgrading and cross-subsidization of services such as water and electricity can be justified in part for the economic benefit that such services provide. Bibliogr. [ASC Leiden abstract]
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