The Role of Regional Organizations and the Activation of Partnerships for Local Economic Development

Abstract

Local economic development has grown significantly because of the economic crisis and unlimited competition. Why do county governments join regional partnership organizations to promote local economic development? Also, what accounts for the creation of the partnerships? Regionalists assert that self-organizing institutions, as tools of regional governance, address collective action problems, and reduce transaction costs among local governments. Similarly, a quasi-market framework indicates that the interaction terms of public demands and institutional organizations can have an influence on increased activities for economic growth. After a review of 399 county government surveys and archival data in the United States, the analysis shows that the positive interaction of poverty rate and regional organizations activates the more partnerships for local economic development, not individual direct effects.