| Innovation is a topic that has gained much interest as a possible local and regional economic development strategy and as a key element in achieving a vibrant business economy. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by expanding on assessment of innovation and its effects on economic growth.;Innovation was modeled as the independent variable, focusing on effects on economic growth, which is the dependent variable of interest for this research. Economic growth was defined in this research as employment, per capita personal income, and population. The method utilized for this purpose was Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) in a cross-sectional model.;The findings of this research indicate that innovation is a strategy that may increase levels of employment and population; however, it was found to have negative effects on per capita personal income. If the goal is to increase the level of employment overall, innovation may be an effective strategy to utilize. However, if a higher level of per capita personal income is desired for a given community, innovation may not be the recommended strategy.;Given the mixed effects to the variables defined herein as economic growth and the importance of rurality, the differences between regions and within regions forces the analysis of economic growth to be treated in a case-by-case, in-depth analysis focused on individual communities, rather than "one-solution" scenarios. |
