Search

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the role of the business size distribution on income and employment growth in U.S. counties from 1990 to 2000. We measure the business size distribution as the share of employees across nine establishment size categories that range from microfirms (one to four employees) to large firms (1,000+ employees) and using three indices similar to a Gini coefficient. Results show that the business size distribution has a significant impact on county-level growth patterns. Employment shares in small firms increase employment growth, but decrease income growth. One possible conclusion suggests policies emphasizing small firms and entrepreneurship during times of high unemployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

State and local economic development efforts have grown during the last three decades in the United States. Some public incentives for companies may be effective, including those for high unemployment areas; others may be wasteful, especially if they retain corporations that merely threaten to leave. As companies increasingly expect incentives, however, governments find themselves in a ‘race to the bottom’– the only way to remain competitive is to offer more. Having identified arguments for and against incentives, this paper considers the prospects for addressing wasteful competition, including, in the absence of Congressional action, the US Supreme Court's application of the Commerce Clause to strike down incentives that discriminate against interstate commerce. A review of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of incentives for the DaimlerChrysler Toledo Jeep plant finds that the Commerce Clause is not a solution for wasteful competition. Another model to consider is the European Union's regulation of incentives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effects of state economic development incentives on the growth of 366 Ohio manufacturing and nonmanufacturing establishments that launched major expansions between 1993 and 1995. Growth is measured as the actual employment change that occurred in these establishments and as the employment growth announced when expansions were launched. Empirical findings indicate that incentives have very little (or even a negative) effect on actual growth and they have a substantial positive effect on announced growth. Findings also suggest that establishments that received incentives overestimated their announced employment targets more than establishments that did not receive incentives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both large-scale immigration and rapid expansion of the railroad network played major roles in the economic development of the United States during the second half of the 19th century. Although the romance of the settlement of the West has received much attention in the literature, the northeast remained the industrial powerhouse of the continent, attracting large numbers of immigrants to work in its mines, factories and mills, despite the growing ascendancy of Chicago. However, new research using the complete count US 1880 census dataset demonstrates that until the latter part of the period, the US railroad industry and its associated employment opportunities were also heavily concentrated in the northeast region. This paper examines the interrelationships between processes of immigration and railroad development, in terms of the movement of people and the availability of employment opportunities, and presents evidence that different ethnic groups participated in the railroad industry to markedly varying degrees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]