Michael I. Luger

Cluster analysis as a mode of inquiry: Its use in science and technology policymaking in North Carolina

We argue that cluster analysis is best viewed as a general mode of inquiry rather than a narrow technical methodology in regional economic analysis. The perspective emphasizes the value of cluster studies as starting points for open discussions among public officials, business leaders, and the lay public about their values and priorities for economic development. We illustrate our thesis with reference to two cluster studies that are influencing technology-focused regional development and education policy in the State of North Carolina.

Geographic differences in production technology

Abstract This paper demonstrates that manufacturing plants within the same industry, but located in different places, often have different production characteristics. This conclusion is based on the time series estimation of a general production model for each of four industries in Los Angeles and Philadelphia. The paper discusses why differences in economies of scale, total factor productivity, factor distribution, elasticities of substitution, and other parameters, are important for regional production theory and public policy.

Quality-of-Life Differences and Urban and Regional Outcomes: A Review

Quality of life depends on the assortment of amenities that individuals and businesses value. Differences in the amount and mix of those amenities should affect the geographic “sorting out” of households and businesses, as well as welfare. Policy makers recognize the trend toward widening intrametropolitan disparities among and within communities and have either discussed or proposed several measures that can help address the problem. However, the differences in quality of life that are developing among communities reflect macro changes in the economy that policy may not, and perhaps should not, attempt to affect. As long as information is widely available and workers are reasonably mobile, the economy will adjust to differences in quality of life that develop. Policy can at least help facilitate that equilibration, and perhaps it can compensate those in the economy who suffer major dislocations in the process.

Costs and benefits of urban erosion and sediment control: The North Carolina experience

The EPA’s new nonpoint source pollution control requirements will soon institutionalize urban erosion and sediment pollution control practices nationwide. The public and private sector costs and social benefits associated with North Carolina’s program (one of the strongest programs in the country in terms of implementation authority, staffing levels, and comprehensiveness of coverage) are examined to provide general policy guidance on questions relating to the likely burden the new best management practices will have on the development industry, the likely costs and benefits of such a program, and the feasibility of running a program on a cost recovery basis. We found that urban erosion and sediment control requirements were not particularly burdensome to the development industry (adding about 4% on average to development costs). Public-sector program costs ranged between

Science/Technology Parks and Regional Development Theory:

2.4 and

Using Contingent Valuation in Environmental Planning

4.8 million in fiscal year 1989. Our contingent valuation survey suggests that urban households in North Carolina are willing to pay somewhere between

Federal labor protetons and the privatization of public transit

7.1 and

Does North Carolina's High-Tech Development Program Work?

14.2 million a year to maintain current levels of sediment pollution control. Our benefit-cost analysis suggests that the overall ratio is likely to be positive, although a definitive figure is elusive. Lastly, we found that several North Carolina localities have cost recovery fee systems that are at least partially self-financing.

Businesses and the Internet: Implications for Firm Location and Clustering

Science/technology (or research) parks have become a prominent element in regional development strategies. Most existing studies of these parks are anecdotal, or focus on parks as real estate ventures only. No study we have seen attempts to analyze the types of regional development outcomes we can expect from science/technology parks and how and why those outcomes might vary. These are important for planners and policymakers to know so they can decide whether science/technology parks can be effective in restructuring regional economies. In this article, we address these issues by drawing on the regional development theory literature. We discuss the outcomes predicted by that literature, critically review those predictions or hypotheses, and provide some insights about their applicability in the U.S. context. Specifically, we review different theories that can be used as ex post rationales for science/technology park development, and critically assess each as explanations of science/technology park development; focus on the particular hypotheses suggested by theory that relate variations in regional development impacts to different input elements of science/technology parks; and place science/technology park development within the broader scope of regional development and technology policy.

Issues in the Design of Locally Sponsored Home Ownership Programs

Abstract A problem in applying benefit-cost analysis to planning issues is the difficulty of imputing values to public goods like water quality. During the past thirty years, the contingent valuation (CV) survey method has been institutionalized as a technique for valuing these types of goods. This article traces the development of the method and summarizes recent federal guidelines. Examples from three recent studies, involving willingness to pay for nonpoint-source pollution controls, are used to illustrate issues about the technique. Considerations for planners who must undertake or evaluate CV studies are discussed.