Assorted Links Friday

Will our children be financially worse off than we are?

Economic Development, It's a Wonderful Life: How I let George Bailey, Mr. Potter, and Bedford Falls tell the story of economic and community development:

The creation of inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems: How technology and data can help communities thrive. (21 page PDF)

Efficiency eludes the construction industry:

The killer stat here: The productivity of American builders has plunged by half since the late 1960s. From the piece: “Examples of how the industry might move forward are not hard to find. More builders could use computer-aided design, as is standard among architects. Other methods are in earlier stages, but show promise, such as remote-controlled cranes and self-driving bulldozers (Komatsu, a Japanese equipment-maker, is developing the latter).”

The corrupt system behind Covid medical shortages: Why are we still facing shortages of masks and medicine a year and a half after the start of the pandemic? Because a buying cartel controls medical supplies, and has for 25 years.