The Next Paradigm Shift in Economic Development

I was in Branson to give the keynote talk to the Fifth Annual Fall Partnership Meeting of the Ozarks Regional Economic Partnership, a ten county region that is centered in Springfield, MO. This group was set up by the Springfield Chamber five years ago together with 68 member cities, counties and other partners in the region to promote sustainable development opportunities. Allen Kunkel, their executive director says, “All economies are regional.”

One of the speakers at the conference was Dennis Robinson, of the University of MO-Columbia in the Community Policy Analysis Center who talked about entrepreneurship in rural counties. Some stats that he shared:
*Small, high growth companies account for 70% of US Economic Growth

*Fortune 500 companies have lost 5 million jobs since 1980, but 34 million jobs have been added in the US, primarily from small and entrepreneurial companies

*As many as 8 out of 100 Americans are attempting to start their own business, the highest rate in the world.

Keep your eyes on the growth of entrepreneurism. It has the potential to become the next paradigm shift in economic development.