“Cultivating” Local Resources or “Hunting” Mobile Resources? Analysis of Endogenous and Exogenous Approaches for Local Economic Development

In a rapidly changing global economy, approaches that rely solely on “nurturing” local resources or “hunting” mobile resources to promote local development are limited and narrowly focused. This article first analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of indigenous and exogenous approaches for local economic development. This article also used an example of Hangzhou’s “Future Sci-Tech City” to demonstrate a balance of both integrated indigenous and exogenous approaches. These findings suggested that a balance of both, an integrated approach would be beneficial to the local economic growth. However, as economic development varies from region to region, local governments have to consider their development context to determine the best way to achieve local economic growth.