ITC Steel Pipe Ruling

Breaking good news for Greater Youngstown:

The Commerce Department is likely to issue an order Jan. 14 for U.S. Customs offices to collect duties that would counteract the subsidies, [International Trade Commission spokesman John Greer] said.

Seven U.S. producers of steel piping that is used in oil and natural gas wells, along with the Downtown-based United Steelworkers union, filed a trade complaint in April, claiming the subsidized Chinese products have hurt the industry and resulted in the loss of about 2,400 steelworker jobs.

The Business Journal has some additional information you can find here. Again, I'll point out that this steel product is important to the booming natural gas industry centered in Pennsylvania and New York. The close proximity to the Marcellus Shale Play is likely a key factor in V&M Star's decision about where to expand operations. I would speculate that the imposed duty makes the investment more likely, but doesn't necessarily privilege the Youngstown location.

Youngstown in Buffalo

As a blogger, I often stumble upon curious and unexpected facts. Youngstown is a part of the Buffalo (New York) region. I'm not referring to the great steel city on the Mahoning River. I gather Youngstown is a suburb of Buffalo. When I'm searching for stories about the Youngstown in Ohio, every so often the place in New York pops up.

Yesterday's blog post afforded a similar serendipity. Youngstown Pride chimes in with an anecdote about immigrants improving a Buffalo neighborhood. Then, Defend Youngstown offers up PUSH Buffalo as a relevant neighborhood redevelopment model.

The very act of creating the blog post you are reading now yields the following find:

As a snow plow trudged its way over Delaware Park — designed from 1868 to 1874 by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, the vision behind Central Park — Mr. Akauola, 53, warmed up in his black Ford Escape. He had walked only two laps — about 3.6 miles — in the park. “Normally, I go three to four rounds, but today it’s hard on your feet,” he explained. “You don’t want to mess up your ankles.”

A native of Tonga, Mr. Akauola, who works in construction, estimated that he is one of a very tiny number of people from the South Pacific living in western New York. (The two climates, of course, could not be more different.)

Mr. Akauola lived in Hawaii, where his two sons and daughter were born, from 1980 to 1985. His wife’s sister, who lived in the Buffalo area, suggested that the family settle here.

“When our first son was born, she gave us the idea,” Mr. Akauola recalled. “Buffalo was an affordable place to put your kids in school.” The three children are grown now. The younger son, who graduated from Rutgers University, lives in New Jersey; the daughter, an alumna of Arizona State University, works for an oil company in Houston.

This unexpected migration to Buffalo could just as easily occur in Youngstown. Missing are the folks who might encourage it. Why not Youngstown?

Youngstown Immigrant Innovation

Update: Youngstown Pride points to a New York Times article about immigrants revitalizing a struggling Buffalo neighborhood.

Richard Herman passed along to me a link to an op-ed in the Cleveland Plain Dealer about the weak investment in the Fund for Our Economic Future. The Cleveland Foundation's hasty retreat is a mystery. Is the Fund not Cleveland-centric enough? One critique of the Fund, found in the op-ed, is a lack of leadership on the immigration front.

The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber should keep that in mind as it campaigns for a renewal of the Ohio Third Frontier program. Anything good can always be better:

Regional groups have told [Richard Herman] ''internationalization was not a top priority,'' he said. ''Immigration is kind of a dirty word here, and organizations don't want to use it.''

For instance, until a year ago, an Ohio Third Frontier-funded program for interns specifically excluded those who weren't citizens from participating.

''That was a bright sign saying, if you're an immigrant, don't come to Ohio,'' Herman said.

One regional mover and shaker who seems to get it is Rob Briggs, president of the Akron-based GAR Foundation, Herman said. He credited Briggs with some of the ideas in the book.

Briggs once convened ''the top believers in the region and asked them to produce an international talent blueprint,'' Herman said. Aspects of that effort are beginning to emerge around the region.

He pointed to the EB-5 Regional Center in Akron and Wooster (which speeds up the visa process for foreign investors of American businesses), an international welcome center being discussed between Cleveland State University and the Jewish Community Federation, and increased activity around international student recruitment and business recruitment (such as Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic's missions to lure foreign companies into launching American operations).

If the Mahoning Valley doesn't have an international talent blueprint, it better craft one ASAP. The Regional Chamber took a strong step in that direction when it hired Eric Planey. The trade trip to China is an impressive undertaking. What about an analogous workforce development strategy?

The "America First" mentality that James Traficant represents is alive and well in Greater Youngstown. Congressman Jason Altmire, TechBelt co-conspirator, has pandered to the anti-immigrant sentiment of his constituency on more than a few occasions.

Being tough on illegal border crossings and putting America's prosperity first don't preclude immigration as an economic development strategy. Too often, we throw that baby out with the bathwater. The debate is polarized as closed borders versus open borders. Or, you are either anti-globalization or anti-American jobs. These are difficult waters for politicians to navigate, but the issue is mission critical for a struggling region.

Spotlight on Warren

All the natives won't move back to the Mahoning Valley, but there is more value in the expatriate community than just numbers. Those who leave have an easier time seeing a bigger region. Where you went to high school is still important, but not to someone born and raised in California. From far away, the fate of Youngstown and Warren are obviously intertwined.

The rapidly evolving story of the Warren advance-energy incubator should interest everyone in the entire TechBelt. Enter Rebecca Bagley, the CEO of NorTech (Cleveland):

Bagley, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-17 Ohio, state Sen. Capri Cafaro, D-32 Hubbard, state Rep. Tom Letson, D-64 Warren, and Mayor Michael O’Brien, outlined their vision Monday of what such an incubator might achieve in the fields of “advanced energy and flexible materials.”

Long on optimism and short on specifics, the four expressed hope the incubator will rejuvenate manufacturing in Mahoning Valley through infant enterprises that one day produce parts for windmills, geothermal, solar and nuclear energy plants and sources of energy other than petroleum, coal and natural gas.

You can find out more about Bagley's vision for Northeast Ohio here. You can also read more about NorTech's plans here. The effort dovetails nicely with the big energy sector push going on right now in Pittsburgh.

Warren could play a key role in the growth of this industry. That's good news for Youngstown and the entire Mahoning Valley. The bad news is the border between Ohio and Pennsylvania. NorTech covers Northeast Ohio, not the entire TechBelt. How Cleveland and Pittsburgh can work together is still a mystery.

Global Green Youngstown

The greening of the Rust Belt is a big part of the vision for this megaregion's future. The primary reorientation is turning to face all the lakes, rivers and streams that used to serve as a dump for all the industrial waste. Green manufacturing is supposed to help along this transition:

Thursday in Copenhagen, U.S. Rep. Timothy J. Ryan announced what he's calling a ''transformational partnership'' between Youngstown and a national environmental group to foster green job creation and development in the rust belt city.

California-based Global Green USA will help speed along planning efforts in the city by building on the Youngstown 2010 plan and putting into place citywide and neighborhood specific greening plans.

The move, Ryan said, could position Youngstown to be a model green city for other Midwestern communities by, simultaneously, reducing its carbon footprint and by doing so, becoming an economic engine in the growing green industry.

''We are leading the green revolution,'' Ryan, D-Niles, said. ''This innovative collaboration will help to elevate Youngstown, northeastern Ohio and the Cleveland-Youngstown-Pittsburgh tech belt - opening us up for global investment in cutting edge green energy technology and sustainable development in our district.''

Not to diminish the gratuitous TechBelt reference, the Global Green USA partnership imagines a green city that serves as a redevelopment model. Youngstown is to be a test tube for sustainable urban design. Helping to fund this initiative is a member of the Youngstown Diaspora:

Jack Scott, a former Youngstown resident who runs a technology company in the Salt Lake City area, and the Raymond John Wean Foundation each contributed $25,000 to this program.

Scott's name rang a bell. He was involved in the Sustainable Energy Forum held last summer at Youngstown State University:

Abraham credited YSU alumnus Jack Scott with being the driving force behind the conference.

Scott earned a degree in mechanical engineering and worked his way up to become president and chief operating officer of Parsons Corp., a California-based engineering and construction company that has $3.4 billion in annual revenues.

Scott said he has a passion for sustainable energy, but he wanted to hold the conference in Youngstown because of his love for the Mahoning Valley and its people.

“One of the greatest assets of this area is the work ethic,” he said. “We hire people from all over the world. You can always tell people who were hired from this area.”

Scott said the forum has to produce action to be a success. The goal is to link researchers with innovative ideas to people who can bring those ideas to market, he said.

Discussions are to be held today on how to continue the collaborations, he said. Also, he and other organizers will meet Wednesday to review the effort and talk about the future.

The issue of sustainable energy is critical for the nation, Scott said. The nation needs to rebuild its manufacturing base to remain an economic power, and a new opportunity is to produce parts for wind turbines, solar panels and other new forms of energy, he said.

The nation should not rely on other countries for these forms of power as it has done with oil, he said. The U.S. sends nearly $1 trillion a year to Saudi Arabia and other oil-exporting countries.

“It’s the single biggest transfer of wealth in the history of the world,” he said.

Scott is an archetype for the region's diaspora economy. One needn't reside in the area to benefit the Mahoning Valley. Scott's success and expansive network are assets for his hometown.

Blog Release: Round Two of EfficientGovNow to Offer $330,000 in Grant Awards to Government Collaboration Projects in Northeast Ohio

The Fund for Our Economic Future, a collaboration of philanthropic entities working to strengthen the region's economic competitiveness, introduced EfficientGovNow earlier this year to encourage greater government collaborations and engage the public to advocate for change.

EfficientGovNow is a competitive grant awards program that encourages and accelerates government collaboration and efficiency by providing rounds of funding to government collaboration projects as selected by YOU, the residents of Northeast Ohio.

The first round of the program, held in early to mid 2009, attracted more than 255 local governmental entities to submit ideas for collaborative projects. Collectively, the projects estimated one-time savings of nearly $40 million and anticipated annual savings of more than $22 million – dollars that can be used to grow and/or attract businesses, provide more education and training, or spent in other ways that grow the economy.

Equally exciting, you, along with nearly 13,500 other Northeast Ohioans, voted in support of the ideas. You participated in a way that motivated government officials to continue to seek ways to collaborate and become more efficient.

That is why, earlier this month, the Fund announced a second round of EfficientGovNow – this time offering $330,000 in grant awards.

RIGHT NOW is your chance to help get this round started. Check out 10 easy ways Northeast Ohioans can spur the second round of EfficientGovNow. Getting engaged is as easy as e-mailing a government official, following EfficientGovNow on Twitter or Facebook, or forwarding EfficientGovNow news coverage to a friend.

Your voice is essential to this effort. Help spur greater government collaboration -- help advance the economic revitalization of Northeast Ohio.

Ragnarök Youngstown

Once again, Mahoning Valley misery is national news. You've seen the images a thousand times. If not in Youngstown or Warren, then in Detroit. The new round of photos don't look so fresh. They haven't for 30 years:

In this corner of northeast Ohio, from Warren to Youngstown, where the old steel mills along the Mahoning River stand like rusted-out mastodons in the weeds, the recession was a final cruelty piled on top of three decades of disappearing jobs. ...

... The road from Warren and Youngstown is a graveyard of silent machines behind chain-link fences. Near the Pennsylvania border, this 25-mile stretch along the Mahoning River was the world's fifth-largest producer of steel until the late 1970s, when more than 50,000 jobs vanished in a decade. The General Motors plant in Lordstown, which employed 14,000 in the 1970s, is down to about 2,500 workers.

Every time globalization goes into one of its funks, some journalist is grasping for the final nail in this region's coffin. The angle is the same, as are the images. It is cliché, the latest downturn providing another excuse to dredge the Mahoning River for the body of Industrial America.

The real story, if you can pry your eyes away from the urban blight, are the changes. The "final erasure" is the burial of the glory days, a blank slate. However, a writer can't look at the current pain without relating what happened in the late 1970s. This isn't the flaking gild of the Golden State or dramatic collapse of Motor City. Thus, everyone overlooks the transformation in order to provide another glimpse of a crumbling steel mill. It's supposed to be a sign of the times.

These aren't the last days of disco.

Rust Belt Porn

I figure most people are familiar the pejorative usage of the term "Rust Belt". The image is one of deep economic malaise and over-dependence on anachronistic industry. These shrinking and decaying cities are stuck in a permanent recession. The stubborn stereotype:

Pittsburgh was devastated by the collapse of the domestic steel industry, but reinvented itself through education and medicine, and has done relatively well in recent years. Local unemployment is now at only 7.7 percent, well below the national average. However, there are limits to Pittsburgh’s recovery, and the city’s many college graduates often move away in search of work.

The current Pittsburgh renaissance deserves an asterisk, but not for the reasons stated. When anyone thinks of a Rust Belt city they include population decline. That's still the Pittsburgh bugaboo, the dreaded brain drain. This is the most persistent element of Rust Belt mythology. It's also the most erroneous.

Here is Youngstown at the bottom of another list (top US cities for business):

In late 2008, Youngstown was deemed by Forbes to be one of America's fastest-dying cities.

"It's not shocking," said Albert Sumell, assistant professor of economics at Youngstown State University. "Obviously, we haven't had good news in a while."

But, he says, the city is showing signs of life. While Youngstown is shrinking in size, it's embracing its smaller future, not just simply expecting it to come back. The city has set up a business incubator that is trying to encourage tech-oriented companies to get started there, and its downtown region is undergoing enough of a renaissance that The Economist magazine recently said it may have turned a corner.

"I think in some ways, our history is worse than our future," Sumell said. "I honestly believe our reputation, nationally, is worse than our potential."

Youngstown does have one Russell 2000 company in its metro area, Stoneridge Inc. (SRI 8.05, -0.10, -1.23%) , a maker of electrical components for cars, in suburban Warren.

But for now, the city is at least in the bottom third in all metrics, the bottom fourth in nine of 10 metrics and the bottom 10% of three. Its growth and job numbers are low, and the city struggled mightily to retain jobs during the past year; it was sixth worst in that metric.

The problem is in the methodology:

We also checked population growth since 2000 and measure job growth against population growth from the beginning of the decade to July 2008, the latest population data available.

In and of itself, population growth isn't a useful way of measuring health. A shrinking city such as Pittsburgh is still being punished for an exodus that happened 25 years ago. That out-migration still defines the city. Youngstown is similarly defined more by its past than the current state of affairs. The legacy costs are staggering. The ranking analysis also suggests the city is a victim of its own geography. The agglomeration economies of larger cities provide them with a comparative advantage.

Many of the metrics used strike me as outdated, a relic of the industrial economy. The booming population of Nigeria doesn't make it an economic power. Despite the loss of people, Pittsburgh is ranked 23rd on the list. So the supposed brain drain becomes the scar on an otherwise glowing review. A Rust Belt city can only go so far, so fast. But that is only a problem if the residents believe it to be true.

Youngstown, believe in Dream City. The measures you see above capture the past, not the future. Take it from someone who still hears the tired refrain, "At least we're not in Pittsburgh."

Myths of Brain Drain

As a Rust Belt refugee, I obsess brain drain policy. This preoccupation has developed into a successful blogging niche. I've been studying this issue for about 3.5 years and I continue to notice a steady flow of false information about a perceived brain drain problem.

A declining population is often used as a surrogate for brain drain:

The other two sectors to enjoy significant growth have been education and health. Yet these fields do not seem to generate the broad-based economic growth needed to boost the overall economy. The region most often favorably linked with the "eds and meds" economy, Pittsburgh, has produced only modest, below-average job growth over the past generation. In fact, Pittsburgh has looked successful largely because the region has continued to hemorrhage its population to other regions, and it attracts few foreign immigrants.

To be frank, the above assessment is bogus. The analysis barely scratches the surface of the demographic story. Pittsburgh did "hemorrhage its population to other regions" back in the early 1980s. But the overall population decline over (at least) the last decade is a result of an aging population dying off and an anemic replacement rate (that does connect to the lack of immigration). Joel Kotkin's claim is wrong and he should know better. I gather he hasn't digested the articles I have written for his website.

Kotkin is in good company. Jumping to brain drain conclusions is the rule, not the exception. Few seem interested in drilling down into the numbers to get a better idea of what is going on in the region. A recent study of rural brain drain is an excellent example. Minnesota Public Radio recently tackled the issue and unearthed some surprising results:

Given this refreshed view of changing demographics, rural America needs to rethink its description of gains and losses. If rural America is losing high-school educated youth (the brain drain) and replacing them with those that at least have a bachelors, isn’t this a Brain Gain?

Indeed, this is brain gain. But Kotkin and others are too busy trying to shoehorn their preferred narrative to notice. The result is misguided policy and government waste, which is ironic given the dominant perspective of many brain drain fear mongers. The rush to judgment only serves surreptitious ends. Brain drain talk is a popular political football. Beware when politicians and pundits invoke the term.

Expatriates in the News

Occasionally, I see a story about someone successful who used to reside in the Greater Youngstown region. In Scranton:

As a senior executive for the Boy Scouts, Mr. LaPolla raises money, organizes new troops and packs, recruits volunteers and scouts. He has worked for the local council for six years, and worked for five years before that for Boy Scout councils in Colorado and Ohio.

"This is my last stop. My wife told me she'd divorce me if we had to move," he joked. "This area to me is thriving ... I'm not leaving here, I love it here and I want to make a difference."

A native of the Youngstown, Ohio, area, he and his wife, Jacqueline, moved to Scranton six years ago and are expecting their first child in February.

"I want to get more involved in politics in the state, with what's going on," he said. "Now that I'm established here in this area, and I'm expecting my first child, I want to make sure our state is on stable financial ground for my child and everyone else's child and their future children as well. Right now, I don't think our state's on that right path. I want to get involved and try to do my best to correct that."

Mr. LaPolla would fit our migration model in terms of ending up in another Rust Belt city. He also has made at least two moves since leaving Youngstown, which makes tracking the Diaspora difficult. I'd bet his first move was to another city in Ohio.

I also wonder if his wife is from the Scranton area. Couples starting a family often boomerang back to the expectant mother's hometown to be near her family. In other words, the trailing spouse is usually male. The better policy approach is to network female talent.

Mahoning River Salmon

On Wednesday, I mentioned the recent NEOtropolis episode about regionalism in Northeast Ohio. I managed to carve out some time to watch the show that night. Towards the end, the panelists briefly discussed "salmon".

Salmon are the people who left the area only to return, among other reasons, for spawning. I gather that the policy wonks are familiar with the boomerang migration trend, going so far as to highlight this demographic as prospective entrepreneurial talent. However, I think the idea was to lure back expatriates who are established entrepreneurs.

The words of the panelists encouraged me. There would seem to be some interest in the boomerang migrant incubator project. I'll remind you of the singular motivation of salmon to travel back to the place of their birth. Channel that energy towards economic redevelopment.

Tim Ryan Hits Home Run

I've anguished over the location of the proposed green energy incubator. In my view, downtown Warren is the ideal place. This would mimic the economic geography of the Youngstown Business Incubator and serve as an anchor for the urban core. Another example is the Greensburg Business Incubator:

Gary Smith, who works in the Kansas office of the USDA, helped plan the Greensburg Business Incubator. Smith says the first step for planners is to ask, "What does the community have that they want to build upon?" In the case of Greensburg, it was the community's shared vision of rebuilding after its disastrous tornado. A traditional business incubator serving as a downtown anchor fit that vision. Additionally, the city was eligible for disaster funding to finance the incubator.

I like downtown Warren, but so much more could be done to revitalize it. A strong city center can do wonders for the entire region. Consider Wooster:

Invest in downtown. Town centers are the communal heart. Too many Midwestern towns let their main streets go to seed. More than anything, this reveals a community that just doesn't care anymore. Who wants to invest in a town with a slum at the center? Columbus, Pella and Wooster look like the good places they are. Wausau may have economic problems, but you'd never know it from its beautifully rehabbed downtown.

Warren is headed in that direction but a recent announcement by Congressman Tim Ryan suggests that this small city is ready to put economic development into overdrive:

The officials said they want to bring the kind of benefits downtown Youngstown has enjoyed from the Youngstown State University’s proximity to the central business district. Ryan said the campus would tie in with the “green” energy incubator being developed in downtown Warren.

“This is the catalyst,” he remarked. In the future, this will be the day that people point to when they ask when did Warren change, he said.

The campus would be located somewhere on Courthouse Square, Ryan said.

That kind of vision is a game-changer and positively plugs Warren into globalization. The ideal location of an institution of higher education is downtown. Innovation thrives in dense areas of face-to-face interaction. Pack it all in as tightly as you can. Let the proposed community college campus house the incubator, introducing students to green entrepreneurial opportunity.

Downtown Warren is now positioned for a jump start. Kudos to Ryan and Governor Ted Strickland for realizing downtown's potential.

Greater Youngstown Includes Cleveland and Pittsburgh

Via the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission blog, NEOtropolis tackles regionalism for Northeast Ohio. That issue finds an echo in the latest edition of PopCity (Pittsburgh):

We can still diss the Browns and cheer for the Steelers, but Pittsburgh and Cleveland simply must work together on economic development and that's what the Tech Belt Initiative is all about. Replicating the Research Triangle in North Carolina and Silicon Valley, Congressmen Jason Altmire (PA-04) and Tim Ryan (OH-17) established the Tech Belt Initiative and its 134 miles of economic opportunity between Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Over the past several years, the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse, BioEnterprise in Cleveland and a host of other organizations have repeatedly joined forces to draw more venture capitalists to our area and to facilitate collaborations between research firms in both states.

The Tech Belt covers 7.2 million people, making it the 4th largest industrial/technology region nationally, with a potential economic impact of more than $1 billion in annual academic R&D. Currently, 700+ companies employ over 25,000+ in bioscience enterprises alone.

Who were the key drivers? Top of the list is John Mancini, President of the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse along with various foundations and organizations include the McCune Foundation, the Raymond John Wean Foundation, Allegheny Conference and the Pittsburgh Technology Council.

I recently heard a rumble that the TechBelt Initiative is soon to take wing. To what end? That's a good question that Aaron Renn has tackled:

I’m willing to be convinced. I clearly see the benefits of regional cooperation on a metro or economic area basis. Even there, however, we’ve seen significant challenges operationalizing even that idea. To really justify significant time and effort being spent on mega-regionalism beyond the quick and easy idea exchange variety, I think a specific program of recommended actions and the type of results we should expect to see from them needs to be put forward. Otherwise I’m inclined to view mega-regionalism in the Midwest as dinosaurs mating. Rolling up a bunch of weak players won’t make a strong one.

As you might note, Aaron is looking at mega-regionalism. I think his critique applies equally well at a smaller scale such as the TechBelt. I don't agree with the "dinosaurs mating" simile. The issue is competing for a slice of a shrinking economic pie. When Cleveland sees Pittsburgh as a competitor, both cities lose:

To distinguish its red-carpet tours, Team NEO crafts attention-grabbing invitations. For the tour during the Rock Hall's induction weekend, invitees received small guitar cases with invitations tucked inside.

"We are competing for these jobs against Indianapolis, Detroit, Pittsburgh," said Team NEO's Carin Rockind, vice president of marketing and communications. "We have to break through."

The parochial barriers to cooperations are significant. The biggest loser in this pride tug-of-war is Youngstown. If Cleveland is fighting with Pittsburgh for "these jobs", then those positions are more likely to end up outside of the TechBelt. Whether they end up in Cleveland or Pittsburgh is of little consequence to Youngstown. That's why it makes sense that the TechBelt is Tim Ryan's baby.

Even the Mahoning Valley has a long way to go concerning regional thinking. Need I remind you of Girard v. Youngstown? The turf war didn't benefit either city. That is what is at stake with the TechBelt Initiative.

Geographic Arbitrage Revisted

The Business Journal Daily relates a story about Youngstown being a good place to get the best bang for your buck. Unfortunately, cost of living advantages have had little influence on talent migration. On the contrary, people continue to cram into global cities with little regard for price. (Via TechBurgher) That trend may be changing:

A lot of our uncertainty revolves around money, and our realization that we can't afford to buy a home here. That fact, rightly or wrongly, has become a touchstone for other uncertainties -- about finding a neighborhood we can stay in for the long term; about having good school options for our two-year-old daughter; about making enough money to afford the high cost of living without giving all of our waking hours over to work.

As in many distressed relationships, there's a third-party involved. In this case it's the seductive call of some smaller, more livable city.

I'd note that the article looks at a particular adult life stage demographic, when career opportunities begin to play second fiddle to other concerns (e.g. quality of school district). The typical migration is to the wealthy suburbs of Big City. But the place swap described is a downgrade in the global urban hierarchy. I think this aptly describes the ideal boomerang migrant that would return to Youngstown.

Regarding the coveted young and educated adult demographic, I wrote a post recently about it. The quote of note is from a Christian Science Monitor article:

Demographics will drive change, too. Cities that have expensive housing may find themselves at a disadvantage in attracting young people. “We’re going to be facing what I call the third civil war – it’s going to be a war between cities and metro areas over where young people will settle, because we’re going to have to fill a lot of jobs,” says Barry Bluestone, an economist at Northeastern University in Boston.

Many of these young workers will be going to places where they sense a think-outside-the-box culture. “It’s hard to be a dynamic economy if you’re a culture that does not tolerate risk,” says Susannah Malarkey, who heads a trade group, the Technology Alliance, in Seattle.

Everyone knows that Youngstown is an inexpensive place to live. What few people realize is the risk-taking culture that has taken root downtown. I don't think this would appeal to graduates fresh out of college, but it could attract young talent looking to accelerate a career after cutting their teeth in Big City.

Again, the migration trends overwhelmingly favor attraction strategies. Trying to keep graduates in town or in state is foolish. The research continues to support this critique. The game is to understand how relocation strategies are changing and then position your region to take advantage of them. Building a wall around Ohio is not the answer.

Promoting Rust Belt Chic

Phil Kidd and Defend Youngstown receive a nice plug in a recent post over at Rust Wire. The personality and hospitality of the Mahoning Valley vanguard is one of the area's greatest draws. Daniel Denvir makes a reference to another regional asset:

The news format of these articles did not allow me space to describe a lot of what I liked so much about these cities. My time in Cleveland was too short, so I can’t say I really got to know it. But my visits to Detroit and Youngstown sparked some real affection for these struggling locales–along with their bars and delis. In Youngstown, this was all due to the unparalleled hospitality offered by Defend Youngstown impresario and Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative organizer Phil Kidd–really enough reason in and of itself for my sure to be soon return visit. And the next time I do this trip, I’ll have to do a series on Rust Belt bars. Because on a personal note, they were amazing. And microbrews like Youngstown’s Rust Belt Brewing Company certainly qualify as a creative and delicious alternative.

The emphasis added is my doing. There is an curious tension within the group that seeks to revitalize America's industrial heartland. Some see the term "Rust Belt" as a pejorative and reinforcing negative stereotypes holding back so many shrinking cities. On the other side are those who celebrate the same world Anthony Bourdain explored in Baltimore, Detroit, and Buffalo for his show "No Reservations":

I think that troubled cities often tragically misinterpret what's coolest about themselves. They scramble for cure-alls, something that will "attract business", always one convention center, one pedestrian mall or restaurant district away from revival. They miss their biggest, best and probably most marketable asset: their unique and slightly off-center character. Few people go to New Orleans because it's a "normal" city -- or a "perfect" or "safe" one. They go because it's crazy, borderline dysfunctional, permissive, shabby, alcoholic and bat shit crazy -- and because it looks like nowhere else. Cleveland is one of my favorite cities. I don't arrive there with a smile on my face every time because of the Cleveland Philarmonic.

Bourdain's post is the best description of Rust Belt Chic I've encountered and aptly characterizes Denvir's fascination with Rust Belt bars. It's about an authenticity of place taken out of context by a younger generation with little to no connection to the world that produced the social environment.

In Youngstown, Rust Belt Chic exists in the relics of the steel industry. It is in the ethnic food from countries that no longer send immigrants to the area. It's captured in ruin porn or on display during a local high school or college football game. Most importantly, Rust Belt Chic is a brand that can attract Generation Y talent.

Like Bourdain, I'm perplexed as to why no place has cashed in on this marketing opportunity. Instead, we obsess the negative publicity misrepresenting our city or chase the title of the next Silicon Valley. Where else can you buy a Daniel Burnham designed building for under $150,000? Is there a better place to headquarter an initiative to revitalize America's great industrial cities?This is a tremendous opportunity, not an indicator of how far Youngstown has fallen. Of course, that depends on how you feel about the term "Rust Belt".

Brain Drain Policies

Given the high rates of unemployment across the nation, now would seem to be a strange time to worry about brain drain. But that's exactly what California is doing. The alarm isn't about what most would expect. The issue is a looming talent shortage. There won't be enough qualified people to fill all the expected job openings and businesses are willing to move wherever they can to find an ample labor pool.

I don't think Ohio's leadership is making the problem clear enough for residents. I'm sure the latest proposed policy to plug this state's brain drain won't work:

Ohio college graduates who stay in the state would be eligible for 10 years of income-tax breaks under legislation introduced in the Ohio Senate.

Sen. Joe Schiavoni of Canfield, D-33rd, offered Senate Bill 198 with hopes of keeping more science, technology, engineering and math degree holders in Ohio, to whom the incentive would be directed.

“We all know that brain drain is a major problem facing our state today,” Schiavoni told members of the Senate’s ways and means committee. “I’ve seen it firsthand as many of my friends, neighbors and former classmates decided to pursue careers in other states. Some of our best and brightest leave Ohio and never come back.”

I won't bore you with my usual sermon about the folly of trying to keep graduates from leaving. The idea is to provide incentive to stay. Look at the legislation from a cost-benefit angle. All the qualifying students who would have stayed regardless of the tax break will cash in on the opportunity. The numbers of those who stick around often surprise the casual observer. Typically, more stay than go and state is proposing to pay all those people in hopes of getting more to seek employment in Ohio.

The proposed policy amounts to nothing more than a tax cut for a fiscally strapped Ohio. It won't generate or attract new business and jobs. And graduates will continue to leave the state at roughly the same rate. In fact, the exodus might get worse before it improves.

Geography of Angel Investors

Update: If you would like to learn more about the geography of innovation, watch the webcast for the Pittsburgh Technology Council / Innovation Works Public Policy Forum detailing President Obama’s “Innovation Strategy” on Thursday, November 19 fro 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.

Urban agglomeration is one of the defining features of globalization. People and firms will bear very high costs in order to benefit from the proximity advantage. I think this is a function of trust. Deals happen and knowledge exchange occurs thanks to a face-to-face interaction. A story about angel investors in The Business Journal is a great example of this kind of behavior:

Angel investors bless entrepreneurs with capital and the know-how to build successful companies, and bless communities with new jobs. Securing funding from angel investors, however, is no easy task, says Catherine V. Mott (WATCH VIDEO), president, CEO and founder of BlueTree Capital Group and BlueTree Allied Angels in Wexford, Pa., a suburb of Pittsburgh.

Mott, who holds an MBA in finance from Youngstown State University, returned to her alma mater Nov. 17 to discuss angel venture capital with students, faculty and members of the community as part of the Williamson Symposium series. ...

... BlueTree Allied Angels focus on “early stage technology companies,” 50% of which are in the healthcare and life sciences fields. That’s because there is a heavy concentration of companies in those disciplines in the Pittsburgh area and angel investers typically invest “in their own backyard,” Mott said.

They invest in the company’s very early stages, “right after family, friends and fools,” and want to be involved in the business to help ensure its success and a return on their investment, Mott stressed. So, she explained, they typically don’t invest in companies outside of a two-to-four hour’s drive. “They want to be able to ride past and see that the lights are on.” Mott described the angels’ involvement in the startups they fund as “an active watching of their money.”

That reach would make angels less risk averse than your typical venture capitalist, many who employ the 20-minute rule:

Meet the “20-minute rule” that guides fateful decisions in Silicon Valley. Craig Johnson, managing director of Concept2Company Ventures, a venture capital firm in Palo Alto, Calif., who has 30 years of experience in early-stage financings, said he knew many venture capitalists who adhered to this doctrine: if a start-up company seeking venture capital is not within a 20-minute drive of the venture firm’s offices, it will not be funded.

Mr. Johnson explained that close proximity permits the investor to provide in-person guidance; initially, that may entail many meetings each week before investor and entrepreneur come to know each other well enough to rely mostly on the phone for updates. Those initial interactions are fateful. “Starting a company is like launching a rocket,” Mr. Johnson said. “If you’re a tenth of a degree off at launch, you may be 1,000 miles off downrange.”

Capital and attention are lavished on entrepreneurs in the Valley as in no other place. Ten years ago, when Dow Jones VentureOne began a quarterly survey of where venture investments landed, one-third of all deals in the country went to the San Francisco Bay Area. Since then, the same share of deals has gone to the same place, almost without variation. Most recently, in the first six months of this year, Silicon Valley still pulled in 32 percent; the region with the second-largest total, New England, was far behind, at 10 percent.

The concentration of venture capital in a few places is textbook urban agglomeration. There are downsides to this economic geography. First, the cost of living or doing business goes up dramatically as more ambitious people cram into an innovation hub. Second, the investment market is limited and dramatic returns are increasingly rare. How might some of this money find its way out of Silicon Valley and well beyond the 20-minute limit?

AnnaLee Saxenian answered this question in her book "The New Argonauts". Foreign born entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley would return home and take the trust of venture capitalists with them. Of course, some of them are the venture capitalists. They move to Israel or India in order to be closer to the investment. On the backs of these cosmopolites, Silicon Valley expands its reach.

Which brings me back to Catherine V. Mott. She represents an opportunity for Pittsburgh venture capital to explore the Mahoning Valley. Mott leaving Youngstown could be a good thing if locals understood her willingness to give back to this community. Her success in another city should be cause for celebration. Mott is the exception to the proximity rule, which is what Greater Youngstown 2.0 is all about.

Study Abroad in Ohio

International education is big business. Ohio is no exception. But the global churn of highly-skilled talent is also vital for local economic development:

"It's really critical to the economic future of Ohio because the businesses that operate in Ohio know they have to compete globally for customers and sales," Chancellor Eric D. Fingerhut said yesterday. "They need employees who can work with their international counterparts and students who have global exposure and understanding."

Too bad the Ohio leadership doesn't apply this framework to domestic migration. The talent exchanges with other states are just as important as the global connections. Brain drain hysteria tends to rule even the most open and well-educated minds.

Regardless, there is a more pressing issue:

In his office, Dr. Snider pulls out a placard and points to a shaded zone representing a 30-minute drive to campus, the area responsible for more than 80 percent of the campus enrollment. The problem, he says, is population in that zone is projected to decline by 12 percent through 2016.

"We have got to supplement that with other populations," Dr. Snider said. "International students, because of the value they add through diversity, are a terrific opportunity."

I'm still struck by the obvious about face from the typical brain drain narrative. Why is the attraction imperative so obvious to university administrators but lost on politicians? Declining student populations are a big threat to the eds and meds economy. This puts a different spin on Pittsburgh's proposed tuition tax, which seeks to meet ballooning municipal pension obligations via the local higher education industry.

I doubt this surcharge would affect enrollment, but it does make clear the struggles to reconcile a shrinking city with vibrant local universities and colleges. We're still not sure how to best leverage these regional knowledge engines given the growing disconnect between those locally trained and those locally employed. There seems to be little interest in the network located outside of the state and the economic opportunities it presents.

I'll just keep scratching my head.

Get Your Globalization Game On

Jon Meacham ends his introduction to the November 23rd issue of Newsweek with the following sentence:

Globalization is not a zero-sum game, but we need to hone our skills to stay in play.

This month, I've been looking to the Greater Youngstown media to help the Mahoning Valley hone its skills for the globalization game. A column in the Sunday Vindicator suggests that the local reporters are not up to the task. Bertram de Souza thinks that US President Barack Obama should intercede on the Valley's behalf concerning the location of V&M Star's pending expansion. Read Eric Planey's comment, which explains the fundamental misunderstanding of the situation informing the opinion piece.

Houston is one of the sites in the running. Another option is Muskogee, Oklahoma. Given this report, also in the Vindicator, the reader might wonder if all the incentives are necessary. That issue deserves some commentary. Consider what James Duderstadt (director of the University of Michigan's Millennium Project) has to say about such an approach to economic development:

It's basically stupid. We hear over and over from companies thinking of moving here that they don't relocate because of tax breaks. People are going to move here for other reasons, such as the quality of life. Or access to markets. Or because it's a beautiful place to be.

Duderstadt knows a lot about globalization. I'd weigh his words carefully. The article by David Skolnick indicates that the access to markets is very important to V&M Star:

Top officials with the Vallourec Group, V&M’s parent company, met Nov. 2 with Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams at its Paris world headquarters to discuss the proposal. ...

... Among the areas mentioned, Williams said the Valley best suits the company’s needs if it expands.

Williams said Vallourec officials mentioned those assets during the Nov. 2 meeting: the company already has a facility here that employs more workers than its two other North American locations combined; the Valley workforce; the financial incentives put together by Youngstown, Girard and the state; and the proximity of Youngstown to V&M’s main customers in New England, New York, Pennsylvania and the Carolinas.

V&M manufactures seamless tubes used mostly in the oil and gas industry.

To me, that sounds like a slam dunk; and I don't mean the financial incentives. I'm still waiting to read how the Marcellus Shale natural gas play is factoring into V&M Star's plans. Perhaps I'm connecting the wrong dots, but the Mahoning Valley journalists are doing little to flesh out a billion dollar story. The scale of context is too small.

Brain Drain and Globalization

Akin to the benefits derived from the liberalization of trade, increasing geographic mobility can improve economic development. Of course, as is the case with globalization, there are perils. Losing talent to another region is costly. Protectionism, which is often more destructive than the alternative, isn't the answer. Instead of impeding out-migration, work with the established flows:

There is much more here – it’s a great collection of news and resources that will be of interest to Donegal people at home and abroad. If only more counties would produce such resources – this is a model that would be very useful throughout Ireland.

Read the publication online on the Donegal County Council website.

Donegal, a rural and isolated part of Ireland, isn't going to reverse the demographic trends. Born of necessity, the region has developed an innovative form diaspora economics. I'm amazed that US communities experiencing similar population decline haven't noticed. One can't embrace the shrinking city paradigm and launch a crusade to plug the brain drain. The factories will not return. Neither will the numbers of people seen during the peak of industrialization.

Diaspora means scattered. The community is dislocated from its place of birth. That kind of consciousness isn't fostered in the Rust Belt. This perception is divorced from a global context. The rest of the world is something to be held at bay. Those who leave are lost in an abyss. The result is that globalization continues to ravage the Midwest and brain drain stifles innovation. Opportunity is some place else.

Undermining the Youngstown Advantage

I'm going to break with the globalization and international migration theme to address a situation of grave concern. First, you should be made aware of the emerging economic redevelopment paradigm of urban frontier. To say that this understanding of shrinking city opportunity resonates with a lot of people is an understatement:

From the I'm-going-to-find-a-rainbow-in-this-dark-cloud-if-it-kills-me school of journalism comes this celebration of the disaster that is Detroit.

Titled Urban "Laboratory and the New American Frontier," it sees the crumbling city as an opportunity to be seized on.

One thing this massive failure has made possible is the ability to come up with radical ideas for the city, and potentially to even implement some of them. Places like Flint and Youngstown might be attracting new ideas and moving forward, but it is big cities that inspire the big, audacious dreams. And that is Detroit. Its size, scale, and powerful brand image are attracting not just the region’s but the world’s attention. It may just be that some of the most important urban innovations in 21st century America end up coming not from Portland or New York, but places like Youngstown and, yes, Detroit. ...

... Maybe it's not for everybody, but that's the whole point. The American frontier wasn't for everybody, either, just the ambitious, the adventurous or the desperate. Such is Detroit.

Detroit isn't the archetype of the urban frontier. That designation goes to Youngstown. However, Tyler Clark suggests that this unique opportunity landscape is under siege:

Last week it was announced that the City of Youngstown received a grant to pursue a deconstruction program related to the dismantling of vacant structures. Steve Novotny, currently interning with the city while finishing his degree at Youngstown State, wrote the $39,000 grant proposal for management of the project and is being looked at to lead the program. ...

... I think the key paragraph comes in the last part of the quoted Vindicator article: David Bozanich "defended the plan to hire Novotny." Defended against whom? Nowhere is there an assertion that anyone is questioning Novotny's fitness to lead the program. Anyone except The Vindicator, perhaps.

Notice, too, the title of the article: "Youngstown council to weigh plan to hire YSU student." It suggests, "Read me, you may find out about another questionable expenditure of funds at City Hall." Yet, no funds are being spent except those Novotny himself applied for and won. And no one is quoted as objecting to or even hinted at questioning the decision to hire the 24-year-old for the program.

Also, note Eric Planey's response to Tyler's blog post:

The area cant grow if there is no risk taking. There will be no risk taking if we as an area collectively assault the new. Some senior at YSU took an initiative on urban planning? Good for him/her. The city wants to hire that person? Sounds good to me...fresh minds / fresh ideas.

For Youngstown to stand out in a region littered with cities of declining population, then it needs to promote itself as a place where such ambition is encouraged. I'd expect the squelching of unproven talent in Cleveland or Pittsburgh, but not Youngstown. However, I'm not as concerned about the journalism employed to write the story.

On the contrary, I applaud the Vindicator for its approach. The nature of the reporting reveals the substantial resistance to urban frontier Youngstown. It reminds me of the soap opera surrounding the V&M Star expansion. There are many residents of the Mahoning Valley who didn't like how the deal was going down. Is it better to sweep these parochial attitudes under the rug?

The key is bloggers such as Tyler to pick up the ball and run with it. If Novotny doesn't get the job, a lot of us will be asking questions. The situation is high profile and politically charged. It won't be business as usual for the patronage network.

The other side of the story is that the newspaper serves all readers, even those who would disparage the hiring of someone so young and inexperienced. If the Vindicator is generating controversy where none existed, then it is behaving in an unethical manner. I suspect that the editor and reporter took a risk in airing the opinions of unnamed sources. But that's what I read in between the lines.

YSU Global Business School

If you want to run with the big dogs:

The purpose of the Centers for International Business Education (CIBE) Program is to coordinate programs of the Federal government in the areas of research, education, and training in international business and trade competitiveness; and to provide grants to pay the Federal share of the cost of planning, establishing, and operating Centers for International Business Education that will– 1. Be national resources for the teaching of improved business techniques, strategies, and methodologies that emphasize the international context in which business is transacted; 2. Provide instruction in critical foreign languages and international fields needed to provide an understanding of the cultures and customs of United States trading partners; 3. Provide research and training in the international aspects of trade, commerce, and other fields of study; 4. Provide training to students enrolled in the institution, or combinations of institutions, in which a center is located; 5. Serve as regional resources to businesses proximately located by offering programs and providing research designed to meet the international training needs of these businesses; and 6. Serve other faculty, students, and institutions of higher education located within their region.

Your move, Youngstown.

Immigration Stimulus

I'll start this post by writing that the Cool Cities approach to urban revitalization isn't effective. At least, I'm deeply skeptical that it can work. I bring this up concerning the immigrant talent advantage that many Sun Belt cities currently enjoy. The Sound of Ideas recently hosted a panel that explored what the Rust Belt could do to steal some of this economically vital talent:

John Austin Brookings Institution

Richard Herman immigration attorney, co-author Immigrant, Inc.: Why Immigrant Entrepreneurs Are Driving the New Economy (and how they will save the American worker)

Reka Barabash Executive Director TiE Ohio

Ratanjit Sondhe entrepreneur, author, board member Cleveland Foundation

One of the strategies suggested is to make your community more welcoming to immigrants. In other words, increase one of Richard Florida's key variables: Tolerance. I doubt southern cities are attracting more immigrants than Rust Belt cities because they are more tolerant. Short of policy change at the federal level (notoriously difficult), what can shrinking cities such as Youngstown do?

I suggest targeting foreign-born secondary migration, which has benefited many cities in Eastern Pennsylvania thanks mostly to the proximity to New York City. Reading's Cool City credentials didn't catalyze more immigration. In fact, look no further to Hazleton to grasp the tolerance climate in that part of the United States. Instead of committing resources to local social transformation, fund a campaign to attract immigrant talent thriving in the DC Metro area or Chicago.

Business Journal Daily Kudos

Great follow up story on the V&M Star expansion and the steel pipe tariffs in today's online edition of the Youngstown Business Journal:

At the request of V&M executives, Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams and [U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan] are scheduled to testify at a congressional hearing next month looking at trade policies and their impact on communities like the Mahoning Valley. Williams met with senior V&M officials last week in Paris to make his case for the proposed expansion.

Another example of news you can use comes from NEOtropolis. I am thrilled to discover that I can watch this program online. I'm a junkie for quality information and this show delivers.

Now, if I can get these two media outlets to target a diaspora audience ...

Hidden Assets at Youngstown State

Janko e-mailed to me an interesting article in this morning's Business Journal online edition. He knows me well enough to highlight the passage that resonates with my interest in talent migration:

The company’s executive team also includes an Ohio State University alumnus. Foreign students who studied in U.S. schools and return to their home counties are the best U.S. ambassadors, he said. “They loved their experience in the states, want to work for American companies abroad and have a global view we need to have,“ Planey remarked.

These New Argonauts are featured in Richard Herman's new book, "Immigrant, Inc." Eric Planey is taking full advantage of reverse brain drain, also known as boomerang migration. Of course, Planey himself is a boomerang migrant back to Youngstown. As Herman might say, "He already thinks like an immigrant."

Something else that caught my eye is the tapping of alumnus from Ohio State. Janko recently told me that many of the foreign born students at Youngstown State University because it is the most inexpensive place for them to study in the entire United States. The Valley could do a much better job of leveraging this comparative advantage. These students are links to global business opportunities, just like the ones the Regional Chamber is exploring in China. Something to think about as the new business school gets cranked up.

Breaking News: US Tariff for Chinese Steel Pipes

First, a reminder about the Mayor Williams in Paris story:

Last week, the U.S. International Trade Commission voted 6-0 to approve an investigation into imports of $380 million in subsidized steel pipe from China. The investigation, which could result in duties of nearly 100% on the imports, followed a petition filed by V&M and other domestic steel companies.

Williams said he would be testifying in December on the “first-hand impact” of unfair trade practices on communities like Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, and why duties and countervailing measures should be implemented “should China continue these actions,” he said.

“Favorable trade rulings are another important component that V&M is looking at as they determine whether or not to expand here,“ said Walt Good, vice president of economic development, business retention and expansion for the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber.

About 30-minutes ago, the Financial Times issued this report:

The US hit China with another big trade action on Thursday as it slapped ­preliminary anti-dumping duties on $2.6bn worth of Chinese pipe imports.

The commerce department’s decision to impose duties of up to 99 per cent on imports of some steel pipes is the latest in a string of trade spats between over tyres, cars and chickens. It comes less than a fortnight before President Barack Obama’s first visit to China.

The ruling will affect more imports by value than Mr Obama’s recent move to impose duties on Chinese tyres, which sparked an international row in which Beijing accused the US of “rampant protectionism”.

The decision was a victory for steel companies, including US Steel Corporation, that petitioned for the duties in April. The United Steelworkers union said the decision was “an overdue message for thousands of American laid-off workers that trade laws are being enforced”. It says nearly half the domestic industry’s workers have been laid off.

I still think V&M Star intended all along to expand in Youngstown. But given Walt Good's comments, the prospects look even brighter.

WTO, China and Youngstown

Taking yesterday's post to heart, the story missing from today's Mahoning Valley headlines:

The US, European Union and Mexico have asked for a World Trade Organisation dispute panel to investigate Chinese restrictions on exports of specialised raw materials used in industry, the latest indication that the global slowdown is leading to greater international action against China’s trade policies.

The request to the WTO claims that China’s restraints on exports of bauxite, magnesium and other raw materials, which are used to make steel, aluminium and some chemicals, is driving up the price of those end products.

If I was King of Youngstown, then every kid coming out of the local high schools would know the fundamentals of global civics and international political economy. Students should be able to understand how a WTO ruling could affect their lives. At the very least, Valley citizens should be able to read about it in the newspaper.

The Business Journal (a great newspaper that everyone interested in the TechBelt should be reading) does a good job of staying on top of global issues. But if they have a journalist dedicated to issues of globalization, I'm unaware of who she or he is. As the article about Mayor Williams meeting with V&M Star executives in Paris highlighted, international trade disputes involving China impact local employment. Today's news about the WTO investigation is a great opportunity to follow up that angle and clue readers in on an important development.

Why Youngstown Should Care About Strikes in Germany

Geography as a subject of study is more often than not misunderstood. Geographers are masters at seeing the links between things that no one else notices. In the future, I think all journalists should have a college degree in geography. That way the following makes the cut in various Mahoning Valley news outlets:

Industrial union IG Metall said workers at Opel's four German plants would halt work - so-called "warning strikes" - on Thursday. Other plants in Europe would follow on Friday, it said.

Perhaps this is the value add we bloggers provide. I don't expect the Vindicator to have foreign correspondents on the payroll. However, I do demand that local beat writers help us readers make the necessary connections. If you don't see stories about globalization in the paper or on the TV news, then where can you get this kind of information with that valuable parochial slant?You won't find it in the Financial Times or the Economist.

General Motors is an important employer in the Mahoning Valley. GM's reneging on the sale of Opel sent shock waves of anger through Germany and elation through the United Kingdom. How might it affect workers in Lordstown? It may be irrelevant, but I'd feel better if a reporter or two could track that down for me. I'd figure struggling newspapers would be scrambling to fill any available niche. No doubt I'm wrong about that.

Steel Pipe Geopolitics: Youngstown, France

Mayor Jay Williams in Paris after a meeting in Berlin is a great example of the globalization of local politics. National governments are cut out of the conversation. That doesn't mean that the nation-state is retreating from the international stage. However, subnational regions must have a coherent geopolitical strategy. The lesson from V&M Star:

“Obviously the market forces need to be trending in a direction that makes sense, and there’s a lot of things that go into that, but there was a sense of optimism as they looked out over the time horizon,” Williams said.

Along with the specific site and project, Williams said he also discussed with the executives the company’s overall strategy, market forces and other factors involving the decision and their timeline. “But I feel very comfortable that the Mahoning Valley site is very high up on their agenda and their radar screen,“ he said.

One of V&Ms concerns is with the unfair trading practices used by some of its international competitors, such as China, they said, and company officials hope that the United States will take “appropriate action,” according to Williams.

Last week, the U.S. International Trade Commission voted 6-0 to approve an investigation into imports of $380 million in subsidized steel pipe from China. The investigation, which could result in duties of nearly 100% on the imports, followed a petition filed by V&M and other domestic steel companies.

Williams said he would be testifying in December on the “first-hand impact” of unfair trade practices on communities like Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, and why duties and countervailing measures should be implemented “should China continue these actions,” he said.

A company headquartered in France is demanding US protectionism on imports from China. Impacts on the economic geography of the Mahoning Valley are complicated. A bit of good news for Pittsburg, CA could be bad news for Youngstown:

In a welcome contrast to local factory closures, a venture of manufacturing companies from the United States and South Korea has opened a $135 million East Bay plant here that will make big pipes for the energy industry.

United Spiral Pipe's new state-of-the-art factory in Pittsburg will employ about 150 people, with room to expand.

The plant produces large-diameter pipes used for transmission of natural gas and oil.

The 340,000-square-foot welded pipe factory is a joint venture of American steel titan U.S. Steel Corp., South Korean steel maker POSCO and South Korean tube products maker SeAH Steel Corp.

The opening of the new plant comes at a time when the looming shutdown of the NUMMI auto factory in Fremont has ripped open numerous economic wounds.

"These are good jobs and these are well-paying jobs," said Pittsburg Mayor Nancy Parent.

Sound familiar? It should. I see a connection between the V&M Star expansion in Youngstown and the natural gas boom headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA. In other words, I'd be shocked if the plant ended up anywhere else but in the Mahoning Valley. Williams can help the company in Paris push the United States to punish cheap steal made in China. The POSCO deal in the Bay Area reveals the bluff. Domestic production is still a strong bet despite the accusation of unfair trade practices.

Youngstown holds all the cards.

Why Not Move to Youngstown?

In anticipation of Richard Herman's book launch party, I'm dedicating all blogging during November to issues of international migration and globalization. As you may be aware, Herman is a tireless advocate for immigrants and the value they bring to the Northeast Ohio community. Read more about the Talent Blueprint Project here. And there is a wealth of information available at the "Immigrant, Inc." website.

The book aims to teach people how to think like an immigrant in order to act as a driver for the regional economy. Resonating with major themes of both of my own blogs, migrant as risk taker:

Immigrant business success has a lot to do with high risk tolerance. Risk tolerance is the core common value shared by both immigrants and entrepreneurs. Reflecting this commonality, MIT Professor Edward Robert has said, “To immigrate is an entrepreneurial act.”

A very small percentage of people in the world ask themselves “why not?” move to another country, and then actually take the plunge, uprooting themselves from the only place and people they have ever known. If they had actually listened to the “why” voices in their head and those around them, they never would have made the move. Try to anticipate future trends in your industry, try to identify big opportunities before anyone else does (even if it labels you a contrarian or a little crazy), and place a big bet or two on an which you are passionate about.

If immigration were a place, it would be Youngstown. Rust Belt refugees already think like the immigrants whom Herman interviewed. Long distance moves during an economic crisis is the definition of risky. People just didn't leave America's centers of manufacturing. They built, from the ground up, boomtowns such as Charlotte. That's how I would rewrite Richard's book, telling the stories of successful Rust Belt refugees. The challenge now is put that talent to work back in the homeland.

Global Youngstown

Next month is dedicated to global themes and international migration. I'm helping my friend Richard Herman promote his new book, "Immigrant, Inc." I share Richard's passion for immigration issues and I'm a strong believer in what foreign born talent can do for local economic development. I also advocate taking advantage of globalization forces, as opposed to merely weathering the storm. That's why I am delighted to see this story in today's Business Journal:

Officials with the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber are heading to the Far East this weekend for a two-week trip to establish business ties in China and Taiwan.

The trip is part of a strategic plan to forge a “global footprint for the Mahoning Valley,” chamber officials report.

Comprising the local delegation for what chamber officials describe as an “unprecedented trip” are Tom Humphries, Regional Chamber president and CEO, Eric Planey, vice president, international/national business attraction; and Florence Wang, a member of the chamber’s board of directors and its senior advisor for Asian markets.

“This is the beginning of a coherent international strategy for the chamber and the Mahoning Valley,” said Planey, who was hired by the chamber in July. The goal of the two-week trip is to put the Youngstown-Warren area on the radar of Chinese corporations looking to expand into overseas markets “as a logical destination for their American operations,” he said.

Coherent international strategies are few and far between in the Rust Belt, particularly at this scale. Much of this development is catalyzed at the state level, mostly as a result of the dominant political geography. However, globalization opens up new avenues for dialog and metro-to-metro exchanges make more sense. In other words, don't wait for Ohio or your folks in DC to get the conversation started.

There are plenty of grassroots opportunities for international relationships. Audrea Cika sent out an e-mail that nicely illustrates this point:

The Kosciuszko Foundation is seeking area teachers and university students to participate in its Arts Enriched English Camp in Poland in July 2010.

The innovative three-week program brings together American teachers with Polish youth to enhance their knowledge of conversational English through instrumental, performance and visual arts experiences. College and high school students who are at least 18 years of age may apply as Teaching Assistants in this unique cultural exchange program. Last summer 44 elementary and 48 high school Polish students participated.

Polish ancestry and knowledge of the Polish language are not required, but participants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Selected participants receive FREE room, board, a weeklong follow-up tour and a modest stipend. Airfare is discounted because group flights are arranged by the Foundation. Teachers who are parents of teenagers can bring their children to serve as Peer Tutors to the Polish students.

Rev. Joseph Rudjak, pastor of Youngstown’s Sts. Peter & Paul and Our Lady of Hungary served as dance and performance arts instructor at the camp last year. He will be joined by Mary Kay Pieski, the program's creator, when the Polish Arts Club of Youngstown hosts an informational session on the program and the opportunities on Sunday, November 15th at 1:30 PM on the 6th Floor of the Maag Library on the campus of Youngstown State University.

The public is invited.

I studied and taught in Poland during a three-week intensive course on transnationalism a few years ago. Poland was set to join the European Union and we were looking at how the border region between Poland and Germany might change. Poland is a country on the come with a number of great investment opportunities. Really, the exchange described above is no different than the Regional Chamber touring China and Taiwan. Business moves along the paths of relationships and Polish cities are strong partners for a revitalized Youngstown. You needn't be Eric Planey or Tom Humphries to engage in your own coherent international strategy.

V&M Star Rising in Youngstown

Imagine Youngstown as a destination for a number of people conducting business globally. What would they see during their visit? V&M Star has already thought this through:

Earlier this year, V&M officials approached representatives of Lien Forward Ohio Regional Council of Governments, an organization that takes tax-delinquent land and matches it up with new owners who can redevelop or landscape the property, and asked if they would help organize a cleanup effort.

“Our intent is to work with Lien Forward in the demolition of vacant housing, making green space and taking areas that are blighted and turning them into areas similar to what you see on Market Street,” Johnson said, where landscaping efforts have cleaned up some of the entranceways into downtown.

Among the first blighted items to go was an unsightly chain-link fence that ran along a portion of the Route 422 thoroughfare. The city recently removed the fence. The city is also planning to raze a former office building of Youngstown Sheet & Tube by the end of the year. The dilapidated building is located at the entrance to the V&M Star plant.

V&M Star attracts visitors from all over the country and the world who do business with the Youngstown plant, and the company wants to clean up one of the city’s most visible gateways, said Debra Flora, Lien Forward’s executive director.

I'll make a wild guess and suppose that the above is one of the reasons V&M Star is so keen to have its expansion within the Youngstown city limits. I'm reminded of the cozy relationship between Big Finance and politicians in Charlotte that sparked a boom in the foothills of the Carolina Piedmont. I don't mean that as a critique, although there is a risk of over-dependence on one industry. It is indicative of the business friendly mindset of the Jay Williams administration and the forward thinking of the Regional Chamber. Things get done.

Youngstown has gone from brownfield backwater to an abundance of greenfield opportunities. Outside of Texas, there aren't many cities like it. In the Rust Belt, Youngstown may have no peers. In fact, I can think of only two cities in the United States that sport Youngstown-like assets: Tornado-ravaged Greensburg, KS and hurricane-ravaged New Orleans. I see New Orleans and Youngstown as kindred spirits. At least, the respective economic revitalization programs seem to be on a similar trajectory. Again, I'll remind you of the lessons from urban China:

Being near the coast is a help in China, because of access to external ideas and because coastal areas were permitted to experiment with reform first. An intriguing pattern is that governance is best in coastal cities that had very little industry when reform began in 1978. Shenzhen now has the highest per capita GDP in China. The same holds in Jiangmen, Dongguan, Suzhou--all were industrial backwaters in 1978, and responded to China's opening by creating good environments for private investment and learning from outsiders. Cities that already had industry tended to protect what they had and reform less aggressively.

In a nutshell, that's the urban frontier paradigm and what makes Youngstown so attractive to V&M Star. The missing piece might be the learning from outsiders, but the Phil Kidd story indicates otherwise. Youngstown leaders are remarkably open to new ideas.