ABSTRACT
Economic growth looms large in the thinking of regional leaders. For good or bad, the concept functions as an end to pursue, a yardstick for measuring progress, and a rationale for policy choices. Building transit networks, recruiting industries, training workers—these are but some of the public investments justified as means of enhancing a region’s capability to produce goods and services and, by extension, raising the living standards of local residents. When robust growth occurs, a region has the potential to thrive, but when growth lags, social and economic problems are likely to mount.
