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Community Economic Development in the United States

The CDFI Industry and America’s Distressed Communities

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  • © 2017

Overview

Authors:
  1. James L. Greer

    1. Swarthmore, USA

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    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  2. Oscar Gonzales

    1. University of Maryland, Maryland, USA

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    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Offers a groundbreaking study of the investment and lending activities of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) in contrast to both the American mainstream financial industry and other federal economic development programs
  • Presents a chronological overview of the historical development of the American community development movement
  • Analyzes of the contribution of the CDFI industry to creating opportunities in highly distressed communities and improving the lives of thousands of citizens

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Table of contents (6 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xix
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  2. Market Failure and the Possibilities of Community Economic Development

    • James L. Greer, Oscar Gonzales
    Pages 1-33

  3. (Re)Discovering Poverty and Economic Underdevelopment: Michael Harrington’s

    • James L. Greer, Oscar Gonzales
    Pages 35-65

  4. The CDFI Industry: Its Origins and Development

    • James L. Greer, Oscar Gonzales
    Pages 67-109

  5. Tax Expenditures and Social Policy

    • James L. Greer, Oscar Gonzales
    Pages 111-138

  6. Community Development Investment in the USA

    • James L. Greer, Oscar Gonzales
    Pages 139-183

  7. The Unequal Economy and the Community Development Movement

    • James L. Greer, Oscar Gonzales
    Pages 185-205

  8. Back Matter

    Pages 207-213
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Keywords

About this book

This is the first scholarly analysis that examines the development and achievements of the American community development movement. Community development is now a multi-billion industry in the US. Hundreds of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), located in all regions of the country, have successfully forged locally-based strategies that provide affordable housing, foster business development, and provide much needed community facilities, including innumerable charter schools, in highly distressed communities in inner city neighborhoods, rural communities, and also in American Indian areas. In many areas of the US, CDFIs represent a viable alternative to the mainstream banking industry. This volume documents the positive impact the CDFI industry has had in distressed urban and rural areas in the US.

Reviews

“Throughout the six chapters, the authors intimately detail the significance and impact of the American community development movement to create initiatives and alternatives to the traditional resources in which the private market system cannot or does not participate. … the book is a comprehensive compendium and a valuable resource guide filled with significant substantive statistical data as well as an excellent critical analysis and evaluation of programs … . Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.” (S. R. Kahn, Choice, Vol. 54 (10), June, 2017)

“Greer and Gonzales bring deep, unique expertise about CDFIs, and this book does an outstanding job of detailing CDFI origins, strategies, and roles. They make a compelling case for CDFIs at the center of community economic development for years to come. This book is straightforward, balanced, comprehensive, and full of practical information. It explains how fiscal and tax policies work together to channel resources to historically underserve and under-resourced communities, and it explains why they do not always work.” (Mark Pinsky, President & CEO (1995-2016), Opportunity Finance Network)

“Greer and Gonzales have produced an invaluable resource for everyone who wants or needs to understand community development finance and CDFIs. Somehow they fit a book’s worth of data, analysis, history, knowledge, and expertise into this monograph. “ (Todd Swanstrom, Des Lee Professor of Community Collaboration and Public Policy Administration, Public Policy Research Center , Universityof Missouri - St. Louis, USA)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Swarthmore, USA

    James L. Greer

  • University of Maryland, Maryland, USA

    Oscar Gonzales

About the authors

James L. Greer is an independent scholar with a PhD in political science from the University of Chicago, USA. His research interests include, along with American community economic development, early New Deal housing and banking policies, home mortgage redlining, and the patterning of economic growth in the American metropolitan areas.


Oscar Gonzales is a PhD candidate in Economics at the University of Maryland, USA. He holds a BA and MA from Yale University, USA. His research focuses on economic and community development in low-income communities. Previously, he held positions at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Congressional Research Service.

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