Institute for Research on Labor and Employment

Traditionally, economic development experts and policymakers have advocated for public investment in the development and expansion of export‐oriented sectors, such as manufacturing. However, research shows that there is a growing importance of “aggregate job growth in local‐serving activities and the potential for certain local‐serving sectors to serve as job generators and diversifiers of regional economies” (Markusen and Schrock 2009, 27) .  The health care sector is a combination of local‐serving and export‐oriented goods and services.