Economic development approaches in a changing global economy: what do practitioners think?

How to best arrange locally based economic development has been an issue of continuing importance and interest throughout history. Although some limited scholarly works exist, much remains to be known about how communities' economic development efforts are organized and whether they are changing in response to global economic changes and conditions. The lacuna is particularly obvious for communities in Ontario, Canada. In light of the recent calls by policy evaluators and critics for restructuring of policy by local communities, this article reports on a study that explored the perspectives of practitioners of economic development approaches. The study shows that locally based economic development has introduced not only rhetoric but also a fundamental shift in activities. The study offers several possible reasons for a change in approaches.