The Homestead Act is an excellent example of how government ought to proceed. It provided land for people if you pledged to farm it, made a commitment to improve it. It was a terrific program. A nother great state initiative was the Land Grant College Act. Every new territory applying for statehood had to set aside land for a land grant college.
Wealth comes from the mind.
If you want economic development, build a university. It's no surprise that this conference on job creation is being held in a major university. The United States government understood this. But note that the state did not directly manage the creation and specific preparation for jobs. I can try to summarize it inadequately but briefly.