Any experienced magician will tell you that children are the toughest audience to fool with a sleight of hand trick.
Adults try to unravel the trick by starting their analysis several steps from the beginning.
Children, instead, always focus on the basic movesthe foundation of the trickand pay attention to every step until the end. It is the same with economic developmentthe most basic moves lay the foundation for unraveling the mysteries of economic growth. The new form of government in Allegheny County may provide our first modern opportunity to start at the very beginning. The Western Pennsylvania region, including the 130 communities of Allegheny County, has experienced significant economic stagnation in recent years, while the business environment in many similar areas has been robust. In response to this economic decline, local governments in Western Pennsylvania have engaged in frenzied competition in order to sustain their land-based revenue streams and continue to balance their increasingly precarious budgets.