Literature Review

Title: Local economic development and cross-border networks.

Authors: David K. Jesuit and Lawrence Sych

Department of Political Science, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, USA

Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing Limited

1. Background/ Orientation

Scholars have debated about public administration without borders. For that reason, there is a call for more realistic observations of regional activity to assist public administrators and scholars searching for a better understanding of economic development. The paper will seek to asses border influence on public administrators promoting local economic development.

2. Problem Statement

Cross-border economic development cooperation is limited. The intention of this research is to establish the elements that aid local governments to defeat cross- border barriers and to advance relations in border areas that are most subject to globalisation realities, namely “old economy” manufacturing and industrial centers. Furthermore, it determines which forces and preconditions are sufficient to promote local cross-border networking

3. Research Objectives

The objectives of this research are:

- To apply a model of regional networks and governance to cross- border cases in order to identify the determining factors that help local governments to overcome barriers and promote interaction in border areas most prone to the realities of globalisation.

- To explore efforts by two local European communities and one local US community on how they act in response to the challenges posed by the global economy.

4. Data Collection

Primary data was collected by means of a questionnaire in English, Italian and French. Local, regional and central government officials, as well as private sector actors, in the Italian region of the Marches and in the countries of Luxembourg and the USA were interviewed.

5. Presentation of the findings

The findings are presented in a table, Table I which summarizes the complete...