U.S. Economic Growth vs. Environmental Conditions

A widely-held belief is that stricter environmental regulations stifle economic growth. To determine empirically the effect of environmental conditions and policies on state-level per capita income growth, a Barro-type economic growth model was estimated for the years 1982 to 1991, which correspond to two consecutive troughs in the business cycle. States with better environmental conditions had significantly higher income growth rates during this period. At the same time, stricter environmental policies did not significantly depress income growth. Data used include recently developed, consistent measures of environmental policy and quality for individual states, as well as data from the 1980 U.S. Census and Bureau of Economic Analysis.     

Interactions Between Economic Growth and Environmental Quality in U.S. Counties

ABSTRACT Linkages among changes in employment, earnings per worker, and pollution per square mile are estimated for 3,036 U.S. counties for the period 1987 to 1995 using a three‐equation disequilibrium adjustment model. Counties with higher shares of African‐Americans experienced higher earnings growth rates over the period 1987‐1995, as did counties with proportionally more females. Counties in states with higher shares of unionized workers had higher earnings growth rates but generated fewer new jobs. Firm size had a significant and negative effect on earnings growth while higher costs of living were associated with higher earnings growth. Also, metro counties and counties in the Northeastern U.S. experienced higher earnings growth than their non‐metro counterparts and counties in other geographic regions. Statistically, faster job growth was found to accelerate the rate of earnings growth per worker. The authors conclude that counties concerned with job growth should recruit or attempt to spawn the creation of larger firms, recognizing that for some firms such a strategy may come at the cost of more rapid increases in pollution. Counties concerned with increasing the rate of growth in per worker earnings should instead focus on the creation of smaller firms.     

The Economic Status of Areas Surrounding Major U.S. Container Ports: Evidence and Policy Issues

ABSTRACT This article examines the current economic status of the areas surrounding major U.S. container ports. We define a “port district” as the geographic area within a 7.5‐mile radius of a port. Our sample includes the 10 largest container ports in the U.S. We find that when we compare port districts to their surrounding metropolitan areas, household unemployment and poverty rates are significantly higher in port districts. Thus, the same ports that serve as “economic engines” for the region and nation may be the cause of economic decline and deterioration in the immediate areas that surround them. This presents a challenge for policy makers who want to preserve the benefits of international trade while facing increasing opposition to port expansion by local communities.     

Growth and Change in U.S. Cities and Suburbs

Differential rates of growth and decentralization are processes that characterized U.S. urban areas over the past three decades. This paper examines the determinants of growth in cities and suburbs during the 1970s, the 1980s, and the 1990s. The modeling approach adopted in the study allows for simultaneity between population and employment, and between cities and suburbs, while also taking into account a range of other explanatory factors. Results indicate that population and employment growth in cities tend to be jointly determined, but that growth of employment in the suburbs tends to drive growth of suburban population. Results also suggest that suburban and city growth are interrelated, but that the nature of these interrelationships varies over time: suburban growth promoted city growth during the 1970s and 1980s, while city and suburban growth were jointly determined during the 1990s. Other factors that consistently explain variation in city growth include demographics, population density, crime rates, and income inequality. Factors consistently explaining suburban growth include regional location and climate.     

Spatial (Im)mobility and Accessibility in Ireland: Implications for Transport Policy

Recent social research that links people's position in society to their ability to access employment has shown the centrality of spatial mobility in the (re)production of patterns of inequality. This is particularly evident in regions where economic activity is unevenly distributed and concentrated in an urban centre and where daily travel patterns reflect a spatial segregation between places of work and residential areas. This paper presents a spatial analysis of accessibility to employment for Galway City and its environs, a predominantly rural region in the West of Ireland dominated by its urban centre. Travel‐to‐work data from the 2006 Census of Population of Ireland were used to present a comparison of district‐specific accessibility levels across three socio‐economic groups. Network analysis and Geographic Information System visualisation tools are used to map existing socio‐spatial topographies of (in)accessibility. This is done to test two contrasting sets of theoretical proposals in the social science literature regarding the relationship between spatial mobility and social status. Advocates of the first position conceptualise spatial mobility as a form of capital that helps to maintain many existing social hierarchies. This contrasts with the views of those who anticipate the dissolution of established social boundaries (“fluidification”) as a result of increased spatial mobility of people, goods, and ideas. It is argued that these contrasting positions are highly relevant to current transport policy debates, including discussions around the impacts of recession‐related cuts in transport infrastructure investment on patterns of accessibility. In addition, they encourage reflection on the impacts of sustainable transport initiatives on different social groups that are more or less mobility disadvantaged, a fact that has hitherto received little attention in policy research and practice.     

The Spatial Structure of Large U. S. Law Firms

Large law firms exert a disproportionate influence over the structure and practice of the legal profession. The spatial structure of these corporations, including the distribution of headquarters and branch offices and their interlinkages, is poorly understood. This paper explores the geography of domestic employment among the largest U. S. 500 law firms using linkage analysis. It highlights the concentration of such firms in large cities and the particular importance of New York and Washington, D. C. In the international arena, U. S. law firms are highly influential. The paper examines the spatial distribution of overseas employment by large U. S. law firms and utilizes input-output analysis to explore the domestic employment impacts of foreign legal services exports.     

Income Distribution Characteristics of Rural Economic Sectors: Implications for Local Development Policy

Recent trends suggest increasing reliance on private markets to provide for local economic well-being. This research demonstrates the study of regional household income distribution patterns associated with productive activities important to many rural areas. A social accounting matrix analysis was used to examine agricultural production, agricultural processing, forestry production, forest products processing, and tourism in a small rural region in Wisconsin to illustrate the variable distributional characteristics of private market structures and related local economic development policy. The results showed that while high income households comprised 22 percent of total regional households in the study area, they received between 57 percent and 63 percent of earned income associated with changes in sectoral factor income. Medium income households (34 percent of regional households) received between 32 percent and 41 percent of earned income, and low income households (44 percent) received between 2 percent and 6 percent. The ability of local policy to influence distributional patterns is implied to the extent that local action can facilitate variable growth rates of targeted economic sectors.     

The End of the Nuclear Era: Nuclear Decommissioning and Its Economic Impacts on U.S. Counties

Between 1957 and 1990, nearly 100 nuclear reactors were constructed throughout the U.S., and nuclear power currently accounts for 20 percent of electricity production nationwide. Nuclear plants are often constructed in small communities for which they constitute a large source of employment and income. To date, 24 nuclear reactors have undergone decommissioning, and more are expected in the future, particularly as nuclear reactors age and face increasingly strict regulations. This paper examines the effects of nuclear decommissioning over time at the county‐level on measures of employment, income, and population using difference‐in‐differences regression and propensity score matching. Panel data are obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau, and cover the years 1975–2014. The analysis finds that nuclear decommissioning is associated with positive and statistically significant increases in employment and per capita income over time. Results suggest that nuclear decommissioning may actually be a positive force in regional economic development, and concludes with limitations of the approach and implications for future research. As an emerging area of research, this paper is meant to build on previous work, as well as to provide a basis for further discussion and debate on the economic future of nuclear host communities and regional economies.     

Why Some States Grow Faster than Others: New Growth Models for State Economic Policy

Recent studies have identified factors statistically related to differences in state economic growth. These findings relate to regional policy because they appear to identify political options that could then be justified as improving growth. This paper evaluates the reliability of these studies as policy guides. It finds that most statistical conclusions are fragile and are ttherefore risky policy guides Economic base theory performs well, and provides the most reliable state level policy options. These policies, however, have to be crafted carefully to avoid pitfalls associated with traditional (and perhaps unpopular) basic industries.     

Growth of Creative Occupations in U.S. Metropolitan Areas: A Shift‐Share Analysis

ABSTRACT This article uses a shift‐share model to investigate the growth of creative occupations in U.S. metropolitan areas during the 1990s. Empirical findings indicate that the performance of the creative economy varied widely across the U.S., and that the highest competitive growth rates of the creative workforce occurred in the Rocky Mountain, Southeast, and Southwest regions. Further analysis focused on whether high competitive workforce growth between 1990 and 2000 translated into high competitive employment growth from 1999 to 2003. The results show that many of the areas with the highest competitive growth rates of creative economy employment from 1999 to 2003 were some of the weakest regions in terms of creative workforce growth during the 1990s. This raises questions about the extent to which jobs follow people in the creative economy, and suggests that an initial strong presence in the creative economy is not a prerequisite for future growth.     

Moonlighting in a High Growth Economy: Evidence from U.S. State‐Level Data

Despite the prevalence of multiple jobholding, there is relatively little research into its causes. Existing research has tested the predictions of standard labor models with micro data. Yet, there has been virtually no research into the relationship between moonlighting and structural differences in regional labor markets such as wages and employment growth. In this manner, this study examines the large differences in multiple jobholding rates across U.S. states. The findings indicate that multiple jobholding acts as a short‐term shock absorber to cyclical changes. However, in the long‐term, these effects dissipate, indicating that moonlighting plays a similar role as do changes in unemployment and labor‐force participation to regional labor market shocks. Conversely, multiple jobholding rates are inversely related to average weekly earnings. Thus, job growth accompanied by real wage (and productivity) growth may result in a decline in multiple jobholding, further exacerbating potential labor shortages. Other key factors found to influence multiple jobholding include occupational structure and education.     

Emerging Global Logistics Networks: Implications for Transport Systems and Policies

ABSTRACT Logistics chains are constantly changing to facilitate increasingly global movements. In qualitative terms, long term trends in logistics services indicate a growing degree of product customization and an increased responsiveness in order delivery. These trends impact on the development of technology and the growth of welfare in different world regions in different ways. This paper drafts a research agenda which will help to improve understanding of the interrelationships between trade, logistics, transport, and regional development at a global scale. Rather than being an exhaustive or detailed inventory of trends, the paper provides a focus on “supply chain by thinking.” The key starting point is the need for more and more efficient transportation and sophisticated logistics processes. Three subjects are treated: First, the strategic implications of borderless supply chain management on the choice of alternative logistics structures in supply chains are considered; second, the possible impacts of the expected changes in supply chain processes upon regional economic activities are examined; third, the impacts of changes in global logistic processes on the transportation system and, in turn, on the environment are explored. This discussion leads to the identification of some new research challenges in the field of transportation and logistics.     

Poverty,Innovation Capacity,and State Economic Development in the Knowledge Economy: Evidence from the U.S.

We examine poverty's effect in two ways. First, we study the relationship between poverty and capacity for innovation in the U.S. states; second, we study the combined effects of poverty and innovation capacity on U.S. state economic output and employment. Because many of the relationships among poverty, innovation capacity and economic performance are simultaneous, we employ the Arellano Bond Difference GMM estimator to estimate various models using panel data (1980–1999). The findings reveal a negative indirect effect of socio‐economic need (poverty) on human and U.S. state and local financial innovation capacity, though there is no empirical link between poverty and federal financial capacity. We find no statistically significant evidence of the contemporaneous effect of poverty on state economic performance, holding innovation capacity constant. This suggests that poverty primarily affects state economic performance indirectly through reduction of innovation capacity. Overall, our findings suggest that U.S. officials ought to be concerned about the role poverty plays in diminishing their state economies' capacity to innovate.     

The U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement and Commodity Transportation Services among U.S. States

The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) implemented beginning in 1989 by the United States aid Canada will have significant impacts on bilateral trading patterns. In addition to its long-term, investment-related repercussions, the FTA will affect the volume, commodity composition, and spatial distribution of trade and, consequently, the transportation services required to move commodities between the two nations. This paper examines the changing spatial structure of U.S.-Canadian trade under the FTA. It employs commodity-specific analyses of tariffs and non-tariff barriers, as well as price and income elasticities of demand, to estimate sectoral and special changes among U.S. states in total, land, water, and airborne commodity flows since 1988 attributable to the FTA. The analysis details the assumptions and methodology used, elaborates upon the likely consequences for me nation's ten largest customs districts, particularly New York, and concludes with some comments on other forces that may alter the expected results.