Abstract:
Economic Development is a complex and constantly changing profession. According to
the literature, it lacks a theoretical base from which to advance as a profession and
academic discipline. The objective of this research is to develop an alternative theoretical
framework for understanding the practice of local economic development. This objective
was achieved by demonstrating that a conventional/positivistic social science approach
has difficulty developing an appropriate theory for economic development and that a
constructionalist/poststructuralist approach can engage the practitioner and provides a
better understanding of local economic development. The development of the framework
commenced with the Deleuzian poststructuralist concept of the rhizome. The rhizome and
other concepts such as assemblages, flows, plateaus, lines of flight, reterritorialisation
and nomads are developed as methodological tools to describe the emergence and
sometimes the later disappearance (like mushrooms popping up on the landscape) of
economic activities and new facilities. The core meta-theory developed in this thesis was
tested and assessed against the case study. The Auckland Regional Economic
Development Strategy (AREDS) was chosen as a case study because the strategy
exemplifies and demonstrates a poor correlation between strategy and real world
economic activity. The AREDS experience was examined through a Deleuzian lens by
conceptualising the process as a rhizomatic econphilosophy of economic development.
