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A Bibliography on Local Government in
British Columbia - Continued

Local Economic Development

Economic development is a broad subject. At one level, it might be argued that anything to do with the national economy ultimately affects the well-being of every town and rural area in the country. The scope of this section of the bibliography is considerably more modest. The focus is on basic characteristics of the B.C. economy which have a direct impact on municipalities, on related issues of regional development, and on the literature about what local governments can do to promote economic development in their areas.
 

The general economic literature about B.C. stresses that the province is largely dependent on the export of a small range of primary goods. The dependence on exports means that the state of the economy is largely outside provincial control. How much lumber the province sells to the U.S., for example, partly depends on the American building industry's demands for lumber, partly on the tariff policies of the U.S. and Canadian governments, and partly on the value of the Canadian dollar. Dependence on a small number of products is significant because it means that a downturn in demand for any one of them has a major impact on the B.C. economy. Calls for provincial economic development, therefore, frequently emphasize the need for a more diverse economy with more secondary industries.
 

Although there is not a great deal of literature on the subject, the sharp upswings and downswings in the provincial economy have an obvious impact on the financial status, and financial stability, of communities in B.C. Leaving aside the overall state of the economy, the question becomes: "What can municipalities do to further their economic development?" This is a question that has received increasing attention in recent years, although more so in "how to do it" type of publications than in academic local government literature. Government efforts may include special efforts to streamline bureaucratic red tape; helping to publicize the development potential of an area; providing a good infrastructure; or "Special Enterprise Zones." Another approach -- which relies on entrepreneurs rather than government -- is the idea of "import replacement." The basic concept is to substitute locally produced goods and services for those from outside the area, thus diversifying and stabilizing the local economy and creating multiplier effects. Note that "import" in this context does not necessarily mean "from a foreign country." This strategy may be accompanied by "buy local" publicity campaigns. In addition, advice and guidance for small businesses may be provided through local organizations which are often funded, in part, by municipalities.
 

Finally, community economic development (or "CED") is gaining in popularity. Sometimes, the term "CED" is used for any form of local economic development, but it also has a narrower meaning. In the latter sense, CED involves the creation of small-scale, often labour intensive rather than capital intensive, businesses and services, often run on a co-operative basis. The object is to provide useful goods and services and to provide employment, on the one hand, while earning just enough money to cover costs on the other hand. CED is one means of diversifying economies and providing goods and services which fall between the nooks and crannies of established businesses. CED can take place in large cities, but the economic difficulties of single-industry towns in hard times often serves as a particular stimulus to it. One common element in the strategies mentioned here is attention to small businesses as a vehicle for the creation of jobs. This has been the case since various economic surveys began to show that small businesses generate a higher proportion of new jobs than do big businesses.
 

In closing, it should be pointed out that not all commentators are optimistic about the efficacy of municipal governments in stimulating local economic development. Given the limitations on permissible local government activities, plus the limited funds available to local government, and the extent to which economic decisions rest on factors beyond local government control, they are not necessarily in a position to provide a great deal of aid. The question also arises as to whether the overall number of jobs rises as a result of municipal government economic stimulation or whether unemployment is simply transferred from one place to another.
 

Relatively few of the sources listed below discuss local government per se, but they do raise issues which local governments need to be aware of. The citations below illustrate the diversity of themes and types of writing that exist on topics related to local economic development. This section should not be regarded as a comprehensive bibliography of writings relevant to economic development in B.C.
 

A. General Overviews

Coffey, William J. and Mario Polese. "Local Development. Conceptual Bases and Policy Implications." Regional Studies 19 (April 1985): 85-93.
 

Dorsey, Candas Jane and Ellen Ticoll. The Nuts and Bolts of Community Based Economic Development. Selected Papers and Proceedings from a Conference held in Edmonton, Alberta, November 19-20, 1982. Edmonton: Edmonton Social Planning Council, 1984.
 

Hastings, John. "The Municipal Economic Development Program at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities." Entrepreneurship Development Review, no. 3 (Summer 1987): 10-11.
 

Kitchen, Harry M. The Role for Local Governments in Economic Development. Toronto: Ontario Economic Council, 1985.
 

Marchak, Patricia. "The Staples Trap." Chapter 13 in Fish vs. Oil: Resources and Rural Development in North Atlantic Societies, ed. J.D. House, 178-86. St. John's, Newfoundland: Institute of Social and Economic Research, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1986. Includes a general discussion of dependency issues.
 

Newman, Lynda H., Deborah M. Lyon and Warren B. Philp. Community Economic Development: An Approach for Urban-Based Economies. Report no. 16. Winnipeg: Institute of Urban Studies, University of Winnipeg, 1986. Very useful overview.
 

Norcliffe, Glen. "Industrial Specialization versus Industrial Diversification: An Assessment of Policy Alternatives." In Regional Diversification and Structural Change. Proceedings of the Canada-United Kingdom Symposium on Industrial Geography held at the University of Calgary, Canada, in August 1983, ed. Brenton M. Barr and Nigel M. Waters, 7-24. B.C. Geographical Series, no. 39. Vancouver: Tantalus Research Ltd., 1984.
 

Ross, David P. and Peter J. Usher. From the Roots Up: Economic Development As If Community Mattered. Ottawa: Canadian Council on Social Development, 1986.
 

Stankovic, Dan. "An Entrepreneurial Approach to Local Economic Development," Plan Canada 27 (Mar. 87): 6-15. A useful overview of the role of small businesses in local economic development, and what local governments can do to encourage such development.
 

Wismer, Susan and David Pell. Community Profit: Community-Based Economic Development in Canada. Toronto: Is Five Press, 1981.
 

B. Works about B.C.

Barr, Brenton M. and Kenneth J. Fairburn. "Growth Poles and Growth Centres: The Impact of the Kraft Pulp Industry on the Location of Growth in British Columbia." In Malaspina Papers: Studies in the Human and Physical Geography, ed. Roger Leigh, 67-77. British Columbia Geographical Series, no. 17. Occasional Papers in Geography. Vancouver: Tantalus Research Ltd., 1973.
 

Baxter, David. Dimensions of the Greater Vancouver Economy, 1986 to 1996. A Report Prepared for Development Services, Greater Vancouver Regional District, Burnaby, B.C., 1986.
 

Bradbury, John. "British Columbia: Metropolis and Hinterland in Microcosm." Chapter 10 of Heartland and Hinterland: A Geography of Canada, 2nd edition, ed. L. D. McCann. Scarborough, Ont.: Prentice-Hall Canada, 1987. An overview from an economic geography perspective.
 

British Columbia. Ministry of Economic Development. British Columbia Regional Index. Victoria, 1986.
 

British Columbia. Ministry of Industry and Small Business Development. Operations Manual for Economic Development Committees. Victoria, 1985. Title on spine: B.C. Community Economic Development Manual.
 

British Columbia. Ministry of Municipal Affairs. Economic Development Strategy Manual. Victoria, 1986. At head of title: Partners in Enterprise.
 

British Columbia. Ministry of Municipal Affairs. Policy and Research Branch. An Evaluation of British Columbia's Downtown Revitalization Programme, February 1987. Prepared by Policy and Research Branch for the Downtown Revitalization Programme. Victoria, 1987.
 

Clague, Michael. Status Report IV: Community Economic Development in British Columbia. Discussion Paper. Vancouver: Social Planning and Research Council of British Columbia, August 1986.
 

Davis, H. Craig. "Income and Employment Multipliers for a Small B.C. Coastal Region." Canadian Journal of Regional Science 3 (Autumn 1980): 227-35. About the Tofino-Uclulet region.
 

Davis, H. Craig. "Income and Employment Multipliers for Seven British Columbia Regions." Canadian Journal of Regional Science 9 (Spring 1986): 103-15.
 

Davis, H. Craig and Lauren E. Davis. "The Local Exchange Trading System: Community Wealth Creation Within the Informal Economy." Plan Canada 27 (Dec. 1987): 238-45. Describes L.E.T.S. operations in several B.C. communities.
 

Donaldson, David and Jacqueline K. Maund. "Does B.C. Need Special Enterprise Zones?" In Restraining the Economy: Social Credit Economic Policies for B.C. in the Eighties, ed. Robert C. Allen and Gideon Rosenbluth, 297-315. Vancouver: New Star Books for the B.C. Economic Policy Institute, 1986.
 

Forward, Charles N., ed. British Columbia: Its Resources and People. Western Geographical Series, vol. 22. Victoria: Department of Geography, University of Victoria, 1987. A number of essays discuss aspects of the B.C. economy.
 

Forward, Charles N. "The Development of Canada's Five Leading National Ports." Urban History Review 10 (Feb. 1982): 25-45. Includes Vancouver.
 

Forward, Charles N. "The Development of Victoria as a Retirement Centre." Urban History Review 13 (Oct, 1984): 117-20.
 

Forward, Charles N. "Relationships Between Elderly Population and Income Sources in the Urban Economic Bases of Victoria and Vancouver." B.C. Studies no. 36 (1977-78): 34-46.
 

Gidney, Norman. "From Coal to Forest Products: The Changing Resource Base of Nanaimo, B.C." Urban History Review 7 (no. 178): 18-47.
 

Grantham, Barbara. "Report on Government, A View from B.C." Journal of Community Development 1 (July/August 1987): 78-79.
 

Holdsworth, Deryck, ed. Reviving Mainstreet. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1985. See especially "Store-fronts for Downtown" by Hans Honegger and Robert Inwood, pages 117-51, for a discussion of Nelson, B.C., but other articles include some B.C. references as well.
 

Hutton, Thomas. Vancouver: An Analysis of Economic Structure, Growth and Change. Vancouver: Economic Development Office, June 1985.
 

Inwood, Robert. "Restoring the Central City Core - Nelson's Main Street Project." Heritage West 6 (Summer 1982): 18-23.
 

Leach, Joy and Jay S. Stewart. "The Economic Impact of Museums on Their Communities. " Museum Round Up no. 91 (1984): 14-17.
 

Ley, David. "Inner City Revitalization in Canada: A Vancouver Case Study." The Canadian Geographer 15 (Summer 1981): 124-48.
 

Ley, David and Thomas Hutton. "Vancouver's Corporate Complex and Producer Services Sector: Linkages and Divergence Within a Provincial Staples Economy." Regional Studies 21 (Oct. 1987): 413-24.
 

Lines, Kenneth. "A Bit of Old England: The Selling of Tourist Victoria." M.A. thesis, University of Victoria, 1972.
 

Marchak, M. Patricia. Green Gold: The Forestry Industry in British Columbia. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1983. Includes a discussion of the problems of single industry towns and what could be done to improve their economies.
 

Maroc, Don. "Participatory Heritage Attracts Tourists." Journal of Community Development 1 (Nov. - Dec. 1987): 16-21. About Chemainus.
 

Ross, John Hamilton. "Urban Vacation Hinterlands: Four British Columbia Cities as Examples." M.A. thesis, University of Victoria, 1969.
 

Shearer, Ronald A. "The Economy of British Columbia." In Trade Liberalization and a Regional Economy: Studies of the Impact of Free Trade on British Columbia. By Ronald A. Shearer, John H. Young and Gordon R. Munro, 3-42. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1968.
 

Social Planning and Review Council of B.C. Bridging Social and Economic Planning: An Exploration of Community Economic Development Activities in British Columbia. Vancouver: SPARC, 1985.
 

Steed, Guy P. F. "Intrametropolitan Manufacturing: Spatial Distribution and Locational Dynamics in Greater Vancouver." Canadian Geographer 17 (Fall 1973): 235-58.
 

Strandberg, Coro T. Community Economic Development in British Columbia: Nine Case Studies. Vancouver: Social Planning and Review Council of British Columbia, January 1985.
 

Vancouver Economic Advisory Commission. An Economic Strategy for Vancouver in the 1980s: Proposal for Policy Implementation. Prepared for: City of Vancouver, April 1983.
 

Warriner, Keith. "Regionalism, Dependence, and the B.C. Fisheries: Historical Development and Recent Trends." In Uncommon Property: The Fishing and Fish-Processing Industries in British Columbia, ed. Patricia Marchak, Neil Guppy and John McMullan, 325-49. Toronto: Methuen, 1987.
 

Warriner, G. Keith and L. Neil Guppy. "From Urban Centre to Isolated Village: Regional Effects of Limited Entry in the British Columbia Fishery." Journal of Canadian Studies 19 (Spring 1984): 138-55.
 

Wikkamatileke, Rhordon. "Import Replacement." Main Street: The Municipal and Regional Development Magazine 2 (Jan. - Feb. 1988): 16-17. Discusses the Better Buy Victoria program.
 

Wilkinson, Henry. "Atlin - Community Profile. The Ghost Town that Refused to Die." North 24 (Jul. - Aug. 1977): 62-65.
 

Please send any comments or questions to Nicola.Marotz@gov.bc.ca
 

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