How friendships and networks matter for urban economic development

Why do some cities perform so much better than others? According to new research from, Naji P. Makarem, it’s not just down to their resources – both human and physical – but also how people and organizations interact and work together. In studying social relations in business communities, he finds that while San Francisco’s diverse and connected social structure has allowed the Bay Area to withstand new economic challenges, Los Angeles’ comparable regional network has not been able to maintain its connectivity, which has led to relatively poorer economic outcomes for the city

A tale of two cities: how San Francisco surged forward while LA fell behind

For most of the twentieth century, the Los Angeles region had one of the county’s best performing economies. But now, incomes of those in the San Francisco Bay area outpace those in LA by a third. In their new book, Michael Storper, Thomas Kemeny, Naji Makarem, & Taner Osman take a close look at how San Francisco has thrived while Los Angeles stagnated. They argue that the Bay Area created an ecosystem of invention and innovation that allowed Silicon Valley to arise and thrive, even as LA’s industries remained largely siloed

Perceptions, relations and regional economic development: A case study of the Bay Area and Southern California

This dissertation investigates the scope and historical origins of the institutional contexts behind the income divergence of the Bay Area and Southern California between 1980 and 2010. It is widely recognized in the literature that the `secret' to the Bay Area's extraordinary economic performance in recent decades lies in the region's institutional structure. This dissertation begins by substantiating this claim by showing that theoretically-derived major income growth-related characteristics cannot explain the extent of the divergence. The research proceeds to explore the scope of the region's transposition-enabling socio-relational context and its historical origins. Findings reveal that such an institutional context is evident at the scope of the Bay Area's high-end corporate social structure, characterized by cross-realm relations and widely-shared perceptions; and at the scope of society at large evident by the degree of generalized trust and the size of the civic sphere. By exploring the history of the civic and political/cross-jurisdictional spheres over the course of the 20th Century evidence is presented in support of an institutional `regional effect' upon the industrial development and consequent income trajectories of these two regions

Perceptions, relations and regional economic development: A case study of the Bay Area and Southern California

This dissertation investigates the scope and historical origins of the institutional contexts behind the income divergence of the Bay Area and Southern California between 1980 and 2010. It is widely recognized in the literature that the `secret' to the Bay Area's extraordinary economic performance in recent decades lies in the region's institutional structure. This dissertation begins by substantiating this claim by showing that theoretically-derived major income growth-related characteristics cannot explain the extent of the divergence. The research proceeds to explore the scope of the region's transposition-enabling socio-relational context and its historical origins. Findings reveal that such an institutional context is evident at the scope of the Bay Area's high-end corporate social structure, characterized by cross-realm relations and widely-shared perceptions; and at the scope of society at large evident by the degree of generalized trust and the size of the civic sphere. By exploring the history of the civic and political/cross-jurisdictional spheres over the course of the 20th Century evidence is presented in support of an institutional `regional effect' upon the industrial development and consequent income trajectories of these two regions

The rise and fall of urban economies: lessons from San Francisco and Los Angeles

The Rise and Fall of Urban Economies challenges many of the conventional notions about economic development and sheds new light on its workings. The authors argue that it is essential to understand the interactions of three major components—economic specialization, human capital formation, and institutional factors—to determine how well a regional economy will cope with new opportunities and challenges. Drawing on economics, sociology, political science, and geography, they argue that the economic development of metropolitan regions hinges on previously underexplored capacities for organizational change in firms, networks of people, and networks of leaders. By studying San Francisco and Los Angeles in unprecedented levels of depth, this book extracts lessons for the field of economic development studies and urban regions around the worl

The Rise and Fall of Urban Economies: Lessons from San Francisco and Los Angeles

Today, the Bay Area is home to the most successful knowledge economy in America, while Los Angeles has fallen progressively farther behind its neighbor to the north and a number of other American metropolises. Yet, in 1970, experts would have predicted that L.A. would outpace San Francisco in population, income, economic power, and influence. The usual factors used to explain urban growth—luck, immigration, local economic policies, and the pool of skilled labor—do not account for the contrast between the two cities and their fates. So what does?The Rise and Fall of Urban Economies challenges many of the conventional notions about economic development and sheds new light on its workings. The authors argue that it is essential to understand the interactions of three major components—economic specialization, human capital formation, and institutional factors—to determine how well a regional economy will cope with new opportunities and challenges. Drawing on economics, sociology, political science, and geography, they argue that the economic development of metropolitan regions hinges on previously underexplored capacities for organizational change in firms, networks of people, and networks of leaders. By studying San Francisco and Los Angeles in unprecedented levels of depth, this book extracts lessons for the field of economic development studies and urban regions around the world. [Publisher's abstract

Book Review Fora: The Rise and Fall of Urban Economies: Lessons from San Francisco and Los Angeles

This book forum reports an outcome of the authors-meet-the-critics session organized for the 2016 American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting, which took place coincidentally but appropriately, in San Francisco

Book Review Fora: The Rise and Fall of Urban Economies: Lessons from San Francisco and Los Angeles

This book forum reports an outcome of the authors-meet-the-critics session organized for the 2016 American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting, which took place coincidentally but appropriately, in San Francisco