David L. Barkley

Labor Force Characteristics of ‘High Tech’ vs. ‘Low Tech’ Manufacturing in Nonmetropolitan Counties in the West

To replace lost jobs and re-stimulate economies, community economic development policies are focusing on “high technology” manufacturing industries. National statistics indicate that this focus has promise. For communities to realize this potential, however, the specific occupational structures of the establishments locating in nonmetropolitan communities must meet employment needs and goals. According to the product-profit life cycle hypothesis, manufacturing firms locate in nonmetropolitan areas primarily to take advantage of low wage, low skill labor. If this is true for high tech manufacturing, their occupational structures and employment impacts may differ little from traditional nonmetropolitan manufacturers. The purpose of this paper is to (1) provide a further test of the product-profit cycle hypothesis for high tech manufacturing; (2) determine if high and low tech manufacturers provide different employment opportunities for nonmetropolitan communities; and (3) determine if the educational requir...

Fiscal Trends: Implications for the Rural South

Key demographic trends in the rural South over the next decade-the aging of the population as baby boomers enter retirement, continued migration to the South, and rapid increases in shares of Hispanic residents-may have profound consequences for the financing of rural community public services. In this paper, we provide an overview of demographic and economic trends that are expected to influence the ability of rural communities to provide essential public services. In addition, we provide econometric evidence on the impacts that these trends are likely to have on the financing of K-12 education in South Carolina.

Regional manufacturing employment cycles revisited

Earlier studies have attributed cyclical variations in regional manufacturing employment to differences in the regions’ industrial compositions and growth rates. Using OLS regressions, this paper demonstrates that the ownership characteristics of a regions manufacturers (branch plants versus unit concerns) and the location of the area with respect to national and regional markets were also factors that influenced the sensitivity of a regions manufacturing employment to fluctuations in aggregate demand. Areas with a relatively high concentration of multi-unit firms and geographically isolated regions experienced greater cyclical severity in manufacturing employment. This increased cyclical severity resulting from the tendency of multi-unit firms to: (1) consolidate production during periods of depressed demand through closing their high cost facilities, and (2) accommodate increased sales and reduce transportation costs during prosperity by opening branches outside the population centers.