Noah Smith: Amazon sweepstakes can be great even for the losers

The saga of Amazon.com’s search for a home for its second headquarters continues. The online retail giant recently announced that it has narrowed the field down to 20 cities. I’m happy to see that Raleigh, North Carolina, my own top pick, made the list.But there’s a worry that the scramble to lure HQ2 will give rise to wasteful urban policies and set a bad precedent. Already there is speculation that Apple Inc. will build an HQ2 of its own, sparking a similar competition. What