Control Factors in the Economic Development of Nonmetropolitan America

1982 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 1645-1666 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Briggs ◽  
J Rees

Nonmetropolitan counties of the United States have shown a remarkable degree of economic growth and diversity in the 1970s. This paper examines three control mechanisms behind these changes and concludes that: the interstate highway system was not a major determining factor in the spatial pattern of nonmetropolitan development, branch plants of manufacturing companies seemed to contribute to employment stability in these areas, and unearned income played an increasing role over time in the economic base of these rural areas. These conclusions, therefore, separate some of the realities from the myths that have surrounded the growth of nonmetropolitan America.

Author(s):  
Gregory Marinic ◽  
◽  
Zeke Leonard ◽  

It has been over fifty years since the beginning of the decline of the American industrial city. After World War II, urban life in the United States began to fracture along social, economic, and demographic lines. The rise of the interstate highway system facilitated the simultaneous collapse of downtown retail districts; advancing urban decay stood in marked contrast to a thriving, homogeneous, trans-continental suburban culture. Today, widespread obsolescence has catalyzed and accelerated to embody the future of shrinking cities in the RustBelt.


2014 ◽  
Vol 129 (3) ◽  
pp. 1085-1140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Treb Allen ◽  
Costas Arkolakis

Abstract We develop a general equilibrium framework to determine the spatial distribution of economic activity on any surface with (nearly) any geography. Combining the gravity structure of trade with labor mobility, we provide conditions for the existence, uniqueness, and stability of a spatial economic equilibrium and derive a simple set of equations that govern the relationship between economic activity and the geography of the surface. We then use the framework to estimate the topography of trade costs, productivities and amenities in the United States. We find that geographic location accounts for at least twenty percent of the spatial variation in U.S. income. Finally, we calculate that the construction of the interstate highway system increased welfare by 1.1 to 1.4 percent, which is substantially larger than its cost.


Author(s):  
Antonio Hurtado-Beltran ◽  
Laurence R. Rilett ◽  
Yunwoo Nam

Battery-powered electric trucks could soon be deployed on a large scale along long-haul routes on the U.S. trunk highway system. These vehicles have numerous advantages, including zero emissions, fuel savings, and lower maintenance costs, that make them attractive for motor carrier companies. However, the deployment of this technology depends on the development of a convenient network of fast-charging stations that can provide sufficient driving coverage along the Interstate highway system. The majority of existing fast-charging stations in rural areas currently are not adequate for the movement of large trucks. A potential solution is to install fast-charging stations at the vast network of rural truck stops. Truck stops are specifically designed for the movement of trucks and are already located on the routes with the highest truck demand. The main objective of this study was to develop a methodology for identifying the driving coverage provided if fast-charging stations were located at truck stop facilities along the U.S. Interstate highway system. The contiguous U.S.A. was taken as the study area. The study approach was based on a geographic information system network analysis with a specific focus on the service area. It was found that truck stop facilities could potentially provide 99.5% driving coverage for electric trucks on the Interstate highway system. This makes them opportune locations for future fast-charging stations. These findings may assist transportation planners and operators in defining strategies required for planning the deployment of long-haul electric trucks on the U.S. highway system.


Author(s):  
Marcus A. Brewer ◽  
Jayson Stibbe

Freeway ramp design guidance has existed in the United States for many decades, coinciding with the advent of the nation’s freeway network and the Interstate Highway system. Some principles associated with ramp design are largely unchanged since their inception, and a review of those principles in the context of today’s drivers and vehicles is beneficial for identifying potential updates to existing guidance. The process of collecting the necessary data may consist of a variety of methods, each with limitations on the number of ramps, vehicles, and trips that can be studied. A current research project is exploring the feasibility of using data from the Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP2) Naturalistic Driving Study (NDS) to identify relationships between ramp design speed characteristics and drivers’ choices of operating speeds on those ramps. The NDS data provides a dataset that is unprecedented in its size and detail, but its suitability for this type of analysis is largely unknown. This paper summarizes the activities and findings of the current research project, including basic models for estimating vehicle speeds on freeway ramps based on the NDS data; these models may be used in conjunction with other ongoing related research efforts to suggest material for potential updates to existing ramp design guidance.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (11) ◽  
pp. 73-78
Author(s):  
David W. Rule ◽  
Lisa N. Kelchner

Telepractice technology allows greater access to speech-language pathology services around the world. These technologies extend beyond evaluation and treatment and are shown to be used effectively in clinical supervision including graduate students and clinical fellows. In fact, a clinical fellow from the United States completed the entire supervised clinical fellowship (CF) year internationally at a rural East African hospital, meeting all requirements for state and national certification by employing telesupervision technology. Thus, telesupervision has the potential to be successfully implemented to address a range of needs including supervisory shortages, health disparities worldwide, and access to services in rural areas where speech-language pathology services are not readily available. The telesupervision experience, potential advantages, implications, and possible limitations are discussed. A brief guide for clinical fellows pursuing telesupervision is also provided.


1963 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 399-413
Author(s):  
Mohammad Irshad Khan

The main purpose of this paper is to present estimates of income elasticities for various commodity groups in East Pakistan. To date no such studies have been conducted in that province; and estimates made in other areas of the subcontinent have only limited applicability. Analysis of consumption patterns is essential for development planning because priorities and investment targets have to be based on demand forecasts for different commodities. Forecasting demand requires, among other variables, reliable estimates of income elasticities. In addition, knowledge about elasticities can be useful in deciding taxation policies and other controls over consumption. Further, in countries like Pakistan where large quantities of surplus foods are imported under the United States PL 480 programme, knowledge of income elasticities and regional patterns of consumption is important to permit effective utilization of these imports for economic development.


Author(s):  
Geoffrey Jones

The chapter examines green business during the 1960s and 1970, decades of new environmental awareness. In organic food natural beauty, a number of commercially viable green businesses and brands began to be built, and distribution channels created. There was significant innovation in wind and solar energy in the wake of the first oil crises although they remained marginal in the energy industry. Green entrepreneurs still faced huge obstacles finding both capital and consumers. In the case of the capital-intensive solar energy business, the main solution was to sell start-ups to cash-rich oil companies. Green businesses clustered in hubs of environmental and social activism, such as Berkeley and Boulder in the United States, Allgäu in Germany, and rural areas of Denmark. These clusters enabled small firms to build skills and competences which could eventually be used to expand into more mainstream locations.


1974 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce E. Lindsay ◽  
Cleve E. Willis

The spread of suburbs into previously rural areas has become commonplace in the United States. A rather striking aspect of this phenomenon has been the discontinuity which results. This aspect is often manifest in a haphazard mixture of unused and densely settled areas which has been described as “sprawl”. A more useful definition of suburban sprawl, its causes, and its consequences, is provided below in order to introduce the econometric objectives of this paper.


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