Two years ago at a leadership café at Marquette University, I heard Dr. Daniel Kim say, “Human development is economic development.” As an economist, I’ve mastered the laws of supply and demand, price elasticity and I look forward to Tuesdays with my Morrie, Alan Greenspan. But what Dr. Kim said so eloquently takes economics out of formula and function and puts it cleanly where it belongs: the human level.

All of our research in the last six years about the best places to live and work for knowledge and next generation workers points to this: human development is the core of economic development. Wealth is generated by how creatively people solve problems, apply their knowledge, and take risks. To hamstring human development in our communities and companies is to mortgage our future.

It has been this way long before Dr. Richard Florida wrote The Rise of the Creative Class. For eternity, people who rely on their ingenuity for economic payoff have flocked to stimulating, humane environments. Athens. Amsterdam. NYC.

Human development – of the mind, of the senses, of our creative and inspired selves – is economic development. When you visit HermanMiller - creator of the Aeron chair and a world leader in sustainable interiors – they hand you a binder with three sections: Notes, Doodle, and Noodle. They expect your mind to drift during meetings and they ENCOURAGE it. HM knows that economic return is generated when it feeds, bends and blends the brains of their people. Human development is economic development.

When we measure a community’s coolness, we grab an alternative paper (where available) and look for all the art openings, writing workshops, guest lectures, and poetry slams. Why are we doing this? We’re looking to see how open and committed your community is to human development in all its forms.

Human development is economic development.