The Importance of Place Prosperity in Economic Mobility: An Examination of Occupational/Industrial Mismatch in Forsyth County

Zagros Madjd-Sadjadi, Michael Zeoli

Pages: 29 – 60  |  First Published: August 2019

Abstract

Forsyth County, North Carolina, is currently the third-least economically mobile county in the entire country. Rather than using massive subsidies and tax abatements to attempt to attract businesses, the county needs to focus more on occupational/industrial mismatch and allow the private sector to guide its efforts while providing assistance to its citizens to allow them to take advantage of the employment opportunities. We argue that the current targeted industries approach adopted by local government economic developers is unlikely to significantly rectify the mismatch and that rather than pursuing a top-down approach to economic development, a bottom-up approach that focuses on developing the workforce and providing transportation linkages to poorer individuals so they can take advantage of employment opportunities will be more beneficial for county residents.

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