ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY
development, the research found that each can
function to enable and constrain the role of local
government in economic development (see Table 2).
Table 2. The enabling and constraining
functions of economic development
interpretations
Enabling function Constraining
function
Growth-
focussed
interpretation Can help to
prioritise economic
and business
issues so that
activities are
more manageable
and results more
tangible If a council opts to
focus on statutory
responsibilities or if
other actors are of
the view that growth-
focussed economic
development
falls outside the
parameters of the
council
Holistic
interpretation Can help to
embed the goal
of economic
development
within the raison
d’être of a council
or bring into the
tent a wider range
of services and
functions that
councils typically
perform, which
are not usually
associated with the
goal of promoting
economic
development If actors perceive
economic
development as
linked to everything
that a council does
then it can become
the responsibility
of everybody and
nobody, which can
result in inertia or,
worse, ‘buck passing’
FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS
Understandings of economic development in turn
shape policy goals, tools and activities, and also those
actors and institutions that are deemed to be ‘core’ or
‘legitimate’ actors in the development process. The
role of local government in economic development
is highly conditioned by other actors, particularly
higher tiers of government. Whilst councils are bereft
of statutory economic development powers and are
also fiscally constrained, even those councils that are
less active in promoting the economic development
of their locality, perform an indirect, albeit crucial, role
in enabling (or stymying) economic development
in terms of how they interpret and, subsequently,
undertake their ‘general functions’.
All places and councils possess resources that
can support economic development goals, but it is
how such resources are mobilised that is decisive.
The research has found that the interpretation of
economic development vis-à-vis the role of councils is
paramount. How councils view their role as economic
development actors and how others (e.g. business,
state government etc.) perceive the role of councils in
promoting local and regional economic development is
a crucial factor conditioning the actual roles performed
by councils.
A key policy implication is the need for all
stakeholders – including councils – to discuss and
debate their specific understandings of economic
development before embarking on activities, such
as the development of an economic strategy. This
is particularly crucial when working in partnerships
so that shared views can be established. A practical
action is for councils to publish and disseminate
how they understand economic development, and
what roles they seek to perform. This would provide
an opportunity to reconcile the multiple economic
framings, logics and objectives exhibited by different
elements of a single council. In turn this proactive
approach might help to shape external perceptions,
including the views of state government and the local
business community.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lee Pugalis is Professor of Urban Studies at the Institute
for Public Policy and Governance, University of Technology
Sydney. He is a chartered town planner and accredited
economic development officer who has published widely on
local and regional economic development. Lee is an editor of
the journals Local Economy and Regional Studies, Regional
Science, an expert advisor to the Assembly of European
Regions and the NSW Government’s Centre for Economic and
Regional Development, and the Regional Studies Association’s
Ambassador to Australia.
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