Richard S. Mack

Nonmetropolitan Manufacturing in the United States and Product Cycle Theory: A Review of the Literature

During the 1950s and 1960s, rural counties in the United States gained manufacturing employment at a significantly higher rate than did metropolitan counties. From a theoretical perspective, this was unexpected and appeared to contradict existing manufacturing location theory. The product cycle theory was proposed as an explanation, and it quickly gained acceptance. The product cycle model as applied in regional analysis predicts that manufacturing plants will locate in urban areas in early stages of product development to take advantage of highly skilled labor, external economies of subcontractors, and close ties to management. As production becomes standardized, manufacturing will shift to rural areas to take advantage of lower labor costs. There now exists a substantial literature, mostly empirical in nature, concerned with the product cycle theory. This article presents a review and evaluation of this literature in hopes of achieving two goals: the first is to provide a coherent summary of the literature for use by economic development planners. The second is to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the product cycle theory and to point out unresolved issues.

The Conceptual Foundations of the New International Division of Labor

This article appraises the conceptual foundations of the new international division of labor (NIDL) literature. According to NIDL, the observed shift of international production from developed to less developed nations can be explained by an international verticalfragmentation of production in which different phases of production are undertaken in different nations, often by the samefirm. The purpose of this review is to examine the conceptual issues surrounding this theory, to analyze NIDLs intellectual relationship to key economic theories, and to draw a conceptual critique.

An Economic Impact Analysis of the Proposed Yakima/Klickitat Fishery Enhancement Project; Preliminary Design Report, Appendix D.

The objective of this study is to estimate the economic impact of the proposed Yakima/Klickitat Production Project on the local economies of the Yakima and Klickitat subbasins. The project, when operating at planned maximum production, will augment the total number of salmon and steelhead returning to the subbasins by 77,600 and will increase the sustainable terminal harvest by 55,160. These estimates do not include fish harvested in the ocean or in the mainstem Columbia. In addition to evaluating the impacts of the construction, operations and maintenance, experimentation and monitoring, and harvest activities described in the Draft Environmental Assessment (Bonneville Power Administration, 1989), our analysis also evaluates some passageway improvements and Phase II screening of irrigation structures. Both of these augmentations are required In order for the project to reach maximum planned harvest levels. The study area includes the Yakima Subbasin economy (Yakima and Kittitas counties), the mid-Columbia Basin/Klickitat Subbasin economies (Klickitat, Hood River, and Wasco counties), and the Tri-Cities economy (Benton and Franklin counties). The study period extends from 1990 through 2015: from preconstruction planning activities through reaching maximum production.