Deborah M. Markley

Economic and Fiscal Impacts of a Business Incubator

Business incubators are one option communities have to support business survival and growth. Incubators are locally based institutions that provide shared physical space and business support services to new and young firms. Most incubator evaluations have not measured total employment and income impacts or the fiscal impacts generated by incubator firms. This article describes the economic and fiscal impacts of one business incubator to illustrate how an incubator can encourage jobs and income in a local community. Incubators generate jobs and income and create linkages with firms inside and outside the local economy over the long run. The cost of creating these jobs is competitive with those costs associated with attracting manufacturing investment into a local community. Incubators can have an impact on communities that are not well positioned to attract such external investments.

Cooperatives in Rural Community Development: A New Framework for Analysis

Although cooperatives are viewed as an important vehicle for community development, the relationship between cooperatives and communities is a neglected research issue. Because of this neglect, no framework for analysis of the relationship between cooperatives and communities exists. We present case studies of non-agricultural cooperatives in rural areas that provide some general insights into the innovative activities of successful cooperatives in rural community development. The case studies help define a new framework for analyzing the complete impact and efforts of cooperatives as community development agents. In contrast to the typical unifunctional and multifunctional categorization of cooperatives, our framework identifies two main categories of cooperative community development activities: unintentional, by simply organizing a business as a cooperative, and intentional, by creating community development programs. Cooperatives in this latter group are further sub-divided according to how closely the development activity is related to their core function.

Certified Capital Companies (CAPCOs): Strengths and Shortcomings of the Latest Wave in State-Assisted Venture Capital Programs

Certified Capital Companies (CAPCOs) are state-certified venture capital companies funded by insurance companies. As an incentive to invest in CAPCOs, insurance companies receive a

Linking rural assets to market demand: Wealth creation value chains in rural America

1 credit on premium taxes for each

Rural wealth creation as a sustainable economic development strategy: introduction to the special issue

1 invested (tax credits are spread over a 10-year period). The CAPCOs must invest in specific types of businesses according to an established time schedule to ensure the availability of tax credits to the insurance companies. Legislation authorizing CAPCO programs has passed in five states (Louisiana, Missouri, Florida, New York, and Wisconsin) and has been considered in eight other states (Iowa, Illinois, Arizona, Texas, Kansas, Vermont, Colorado, and North Carolina). This article summarizes the characteristics and experiences of CAPCO programs in the states that have passed enabling legislation. Lessons learned from the experiences of the state programs are provided, and the advantages and disadvantages of CAPCOs as compared to alternative state-sponsored venture capital programs are reviewed.

E-Commerce as a Business Strategy: Lessons Learned from Case Studies of Rural and Small Town Businesses

Rural regions across the United States have struggled to implement economic development strategies that build local assets and create wealth that contributes to sustained prosperity. This article describes a systems framework that enables rural areas to build multiple forms of wealth and provides expanded demand-driven opportunities for economically isolated individuals, businesses and communities. The characteristics of wealth creation value chains and the early results from the implementation of the framework in two regions in the United States are shared.

Positive Examples and Lessons Learned from Rural Small Business Adoption of E-Commerce Strategies.

Many rural areas in the United States find themselves struggling to build local assets and create wealth. They often struggle to hold on to the wealth that is created within their boundaries. Conventional approaches to community and economic development have been inadequate to reverse these trends. Shifting from an old paradigm for economic development requires supporting community leaders in new ways of thinking about economic development and the role of rural places, based on valuing multiple forms of wealth. There is a real need for an approach that can help stem the potential loss of existing wealth and attract new investment that will allow rural areas to become valued partners in regional economies. The articles in this special issue provide important insights into rural wealth creation as a sustainable economic development strategy. At the same time, a number of compelling issues are raised that merit future research effort and discussion.