Cities and the Wealth of Nations Author:Jane Jacobs "Any settlement that becomes import-replacing becomes a city." writes author Jane Jacobs in Cities and the Wealth of Nations. — Author Jacobs writes convincingly that individual firms are not the basis of the economy. She identifies the city as a place in which economic activity is generated by a network of interloc... more »king dependencies among firms as the basis of an economic analysis. She identifies these interdependencies as either being capable of adapting to change or incapable. A closed fixed system of interdependencies is the hallmark of a city (or a firm) which is ready for decline. Cities or enterprises in which the economic components are free to exploit new opportunties can adapt to challenges from outside. Jacobs charaterizes this adaptation as taking the form of a specialization of an existing economic component to supply a new need.« less