Jamie R. McCall’s research while affiliated with University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and other places

Community development financial institutions (CDFIs) are an integral component of US community economic development policy. These organizations differ in structure and client base, but they all seek to promote sustainable and equitable growth at the local level. By injecting capital into under-served markets, CDFIs facilitate development that may not otherwise occur. Attempts to measure and evaluate CDFI performance have often yielded disparate results. A systematic review of the literature reveals that capacity constraints have resulted in CDFI evaluations with wide variance in scope and rigor. Making comparisons across these institutions is difficult because there are few standardized performance metrics that could inform evaluations. Major CDFI funders in the philanthropic and public sectors often have competing demands and do not consistently use evaluations to guide their decisions. To incrementally advance CDFI research and promote a more accurate understanding of their impact, we recommend a shift towards utilization-focused evaluations (UFEs).

Communities with high levels of social capital enjoy an array of positive economic and community development outcomes. We assess the role of several key community characteristics, including the strength of government institutions, in explaining local social capital variation. The analysis draws on data from United States counties and includes regression modelling and a Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition to explore differences in social capital across an area’s metropolitan status and region. The data show social capital determinants vary by place both due to the endowment levels of these determinants and the productive value of their coefficients. For example, the coefficient productive values of government capacity explain some differences in social capital levels across metropolitan status (but not across region). Concurrently, variations in government capacity endowment levels help explain some differences in social capital levels across region (but not across metropolitan status).

Rubin (1988) argued communities “shoot anything that flies and claim anything that falls” in their efforts to attract businesses. Such a perspective implies local governments will use large numbers of strategies as they try “everything but the kitchen sink” to promote job creation and private investment. Conversely, Stokan (2003) claims localities are more selective in how they approach economic development, which implies there should be wide variation in the number of development strategies used across jurisdictions. Based on original survey data from North Carolina cities and counties of all sizes, the findings provide support for both explanations. The data show localities vary considerably with respect to the number of strategies they employ. Notably, variation in strategy use is associated with certain community characteristics including government capacity and development network strength. However, the data also reveal that communities are, on average, utilizing a relatively high number of strategies, lending some credence to Rubin’s theory.

Objective This article tests how income inequality mediates and moderates the relationship between racial diversity and social capital. We posit that racial diversity leads to higher levels of income equality, which reduces social capital. We also hypothesize that racial diversity has a stronger negative effect on social capital in places with high levels of income inequality (a compounding effect). Methods Drawing upon data from U.S. counties, we test these models using a series of regression models. Results Diversity and income inequality have negative effects on social capital. There is also evidence of both mediating and moderating effects. Income inequality partially mediates the negative relationship between diversity and social capital. As income inequality increases, the negative relationship between diversity and social capital decreases. Furthermore, we find that population growth moderates these relationships. Conclusion The relationship among social capital, income inequality, and diversity is complex. Although the direct effect is negative, there is some evidence for key mediating and moderating effects. More conceptual and empirical work is needed to assess the relationship between these concepts.

The authors examine major aspects of the connection between social capital and economic development in U.S. counties. They test the conclusions of Putnam, who saw associations as a force for positive development, and Olson, who concluded the opposite. The authors find that Putnam organizations have a negative effect on income, while Olson organizations have a positive effect by decreasing levels of income inequality. Drawing on the literature distinguishing between bridging versus bonding, the authors show that bridging capital has a positive effect on development by increasing per capita income, while bonding capital has a neutral effect on both per capita income and income inequality. Finally, religious variables are tested for their relationship with economic development. Overall, congregation density has a negative influence by increasing per capita income and income inequality, controlling for geographic type. Congregations with bridging characteristics have a mixed effect on development by decreasing income and decreasing inequality.

Public policies designed to encourage ecotourism in the Galapagos Islands have evolved in the decades since the islands became center stage in the international dialogue about environmental conservation. One of the most important pieces of legislation that regulates how the islands’ governments should balance economic development and environmental preservation is the Special Law of 1998. This chapter examines the unique historical, political, and economic factors that ultimately shaped the policies included in the Special Law. The authors examine the effectiveness and impacts of the law using the lens of local public and nonprofit leaders who were surveyed about ecotourism regulations in July 2011. The results show that although Galapagos leaders generally supported regulations designed around sustainable development, they were not as uniformly positive about the implementation and effectiveness of the Special Law.

In 1998, the government of Ecuador enacted a special law with the goal of both promoting environmental preservation and economic development in the Galapagos Islands. The reforms in the Special Law of 1998 were sweeping. Among other things it created the Galapagos Marine Preserve, limited the ability of immigrants arriving from mainland Ecuador to secure employment, restricted fishing to local residents only, and increased the institutional power of regulatory organisations like the Galapagos National Park. This article presents the results of a series of qualitative interviews conducted in July 2011 with local Island leaders on their support for the Special Law of 1998 in general and in regards to its implementation. The interviews also asked the respondents' opinions on a wider set of ecotourism policies and issues. The findings indicate that generally there is a great amount of support for the law amongst leaders, but there is a strong consensus that the Special Law has not been implemented effectively. The reasons behind these failures of implementation are multifaceted, but include: the weak and fragmented status of Galapagos institutions, a lack of professionalised leadership, leadership which engages in politicised decision-making, and, finally, failures to enforce unpopular provisions of the Special Law.

Eminent domain is an urgent problem facing local government administrators and scholars throughout the United States. However, the literature is sparse regarding how local leaders make decisions on this hot-button issue. A 2006 Government Accountability Office report noted a lack of data about local governments’ use of their eminent domain authority. A survey of county managers in North Carolina was conducted to redress this apparent knowledge gap. Although the findings are primarily generalizable only to other Dillon’s rule states, such data demonstrate that eminent domain applies more often for “narrow” (public use) purposes, such as water and sewer systems, than for “broad” (public good) purposes, such as economic development. Current and future property considerations also influence eminent domain decisions. [A] law that takes property from A, and gives it to B: It is against all reason and justice, for a people to entrust a legislature with such powers; and, therefore, it cannot be presumed that they have done it. —Associate Justice Samuel Chase, majority opinion, Calder v. Bull (1798)