ABSTRACT

I have long been a student of the former, concerned for almost my entire career with how technological advancements help regions, urban centers, and nations to grow. I came late in my career to issues having to do with arts, culture, and diversity. When I address audiences interested primarily in these topics, I always start with an apology: “I am not a student of any of the three,” I say, “and I have only a cursory understanding of their internal functionings. Rather, my career-long concern has been with how and why regions or nations grow economically.”This compilation of essays should help to illustrate the overall trajectory of my work, from my ongoing interest in the nature of capitalism and the forces that power its growth to my ever-evolving understanding of the role that regions and urban centers play as the key economic and social organizing units of contemporary societies.