THE USE OF PLANNING METHODOLOGIES IN LOCAL ECONOMIC-DEVELOPMENT DECISION-MAKING

In this paper the nature and extent of local planning and evaluation p ractices and their impact on economic development policies are examine d. Based on data from a survey of Canadian and US cities with populati ons over 10 000, several conclusions are drawn: (1) it appears that th e extent of planning and evaluation of local economic development poli cies is limited in cities in both nations; (2) conditions which appear to be associated with planning and evaluation include expected growth in economic base, more land available for development, larger local b udgets for economic development, and greater professionalism among eco nomic development officials; and (3) although more planning and evalua tion activity is related to an increased use of all types of economic development techniques, planning appears to interact with other local forces in a manner which may lead to more entrepreneurial, demand-side , or redistributive economic development policies.