Economic growth—the expansion and enrichment of business activity—is a narrow goal, easy to explain and understand: “More jobs for the community.”  Economic development—expansion and enrichment of a community—is a broader goal: hard to explain, often fraught...

This is the first blog in a series of local economic development initiatives strengthening local economies and anchoring investment in Appalachian Communities of Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky.   Economic loss and community decline is generally...