Data from a survey of the directors of local economic development agencies clearly indicate that the directors see sales (as opposed to “rational model”) activities as the most important, the most time-consuming, and the most productive aspects of their work. This emphasis on sales makes sense because the market for sites and structures is based on highly imperfect information. It also makes sense within the political context of local economic development, for it helps local government look good and it secures the position of the economic developer and his or her agency. This article argues that, by improving the market for sites and structures, local economic development efforts contribute to aggregate economic performance. This contribution, however, may be the only useful one that economic developers make at the national level. One reason the sales aspect has received so little attention in the literature is that sales and related activities fit awkwardly into economics, a discipline that takes the rational “economic man” as its starting point. © 1990 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.
