THE ANTIGROWTH ENTREPRENEUR - CHALLENGING THE EQUILIBRIUM OF THE GROWTH MACHINE

Our present understanding of the antigrowth movement in local government is limited. In this article we argue that while the importance of progrowth entrepreneurs has been discussed in the analysis of the growth machine, present studies of the antigrowth movement fail to identify the critical role of antigrowth entrepreneurs. Fundamentally, it is not enough that the objective conditions in a given community may support an antigrowth movement-an antigrowth entrepreneur may be a necessary catalyst for change. Our empirical results show that the incentives and obstacles inherent in the local political structure are more important than economic and demographic factors in explaining the emergence of entrepreneurial leaders who launch challenges to progrowth policies.