Regional Industrial Recruitment in Upstate New York

This article, by analyzing a major development initiative undertaken in upstate New York, seeks to broaden our understanding of a dominant model of economic development: industrial recruitment. Whereas prior studies have examined this model mainly within separate, individual communities, this article broadens the analysis to the regional level and examines how regional economic development organizations can help mediate local political fragmentation that can potentially undermine cross-jurisdictional economic development ventures. With this, we explore how these organizations can exploit the bonding and bridging social ties within and between communities to advance a project, the methods they employ to broaden cross-community consensus regarding a project, and how they can potentially mediate political conflict that may arise as a result of a development venture.