The decade 1990—2000 marked a historical turnaround for large metropolitan areas in the US. For the first time in the post-World-War-II period these metropolitan areas experienced a reduction in the local share of economic activity relative to the export share. The long-standing shift...

Import substitution deserves more consideration as a theoretical basis for local economic development policies. Its role in promoting local growth is theoretically well-founded. Less clear is the extent to which public policies can promote it. In order to facilitate experimentation, the article...