Differentials in endogenous regional employment growth in US metropolitan areas: the role of entrepreneurship and other leadership and institutional factors

Numerous writers refer to economic development as both a process and a product or outcome (see, for example, Blakely, 1994; Stimson et al. 2006b). It is certainly a multi-dimensional phenomenon, involving many actors and influenced by many factors. It also seems to defy precise definition, being seen to incorporate both quantitative and qualitative dimensions. The study of regional economic development is concerned not only with analysis and modeling but also policy and strategy that may facilitate regional development process as well as regional change. The process of regional economic development is certainly dynamic. Over time, various approaches to theorizing about regional economic development and to modeling regional growth have evolved. Traditional regional economic development approaches are based on neo-classical economic growth theory and heavily influenced by the Solow (1956; 2000) model. These have been replaced over the last 3 decades by a suite of arguments and models commonly known as the new growth theory, which focus on endogenous factors and processes. This orientation is seen in the writings of many economists, including Romer (1986; 1990), Lucas (1988), Barro (1990), Grossman and Helpman (1991), Rebelo (1991) and Arthur (1994). An early focus of the new growth theory was on technical progress as it generates economic development, as exemplified in the work of Rees (1979) and Malecki (1991)