Stephan Goetz, director of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, discusses his recent research on the growing impact of self-employment as an economic development strategy. He also describes the types of local programs and policies that can support this sector.

How can a city create an attractive business climate and leverage its unique assets to gain and retain jobs? The Greater Houston Partnership's Craig Richard discusses an approach that has worked in his city to propel significant job growth despite the weak national recovery.

Many cities have experienced the contraction of a once-dominant industry. The Richmond Fed's Kim Zeuli examines two North Carolina cities—Concord and Eden—that lost their textile employment base and learned to adapt to changing conditions.

Workforce development issues require collaboration across sectors and geographies. Damian Thorman, national program director at the John L. and James S. Knight Foundation, discusses the importance of public, private, and philanthropic partnerships in addressing local and regional workforce challenges.

Small minority businesses typically pay higher interest rates and receive smaller loans than nonminority-owned firms of similar age and size. Tim Bates, professor of economics at Wayne State University, explores ideas to increase access to capital so minority companies can create jobs and expand.

Philip Harvey, professor of law and economics at Rutgers University, discusses how his proposed direct job creation program would create temporary public-sector jobs, and in the process, help reduce unemployment.

Bob Friedman of the Corporation for Enterprise Development discusses how federal tax preparation assistance for new businesses and the self-employed could facilitate job creation.

Satya Rhodes-Conway and James Irwin, senior associates at the Center on Wisconsin Strategy, discuss how retrofitting public and institutional buildings spurs job creation in the real estate sector while reducing building operating costs.

Instead of sending waste to landfills, a municipal approach that prioritizes the reuse, recycling, and remanufacture of materials can provide a range of new jobs. Georgia Tech's Nancey Green Leigh discusses how to create jobs from the waste diversion process.

Economic development practitioners can foster strategic collaboration among regional concentrations of firms and industries to support job growth and investment in their communities. John Fernandez, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, discusses how to develop and maximize the effectiveness of regional economic development strategies.