ABSTRACT
Given some of the great trends in the world today, such as the future of work in an era of rapid technological advance, rising socioeconomic disparity, the strains of globalization, and the rise of nationalist economic thinking, how can the economic role of government be recast to be a positive force for broad-based growth? What levels of government can meaningfully address some of today’s most pressing issues? What role must regional and city governments play? This chapter covers a variety of subjects that are concerned with new ways of envisaging the conventional role of government in economic policy making and the pursuit of competitiveness, recognizing that governments even compete with one other in the regulatory environment. It further argues that city governments in particular are going to be important agents in the economy of the future as so much urbanization and innovation are combining to reinforce the social relations of innovation production.
