The Decentralization of High‐Technology Manufacturing to Nonmetropolitan Areas

Abstract

Historically, employment in high-technology manufacturing industries has been concentrated in metropolitan areas. The product life cycle theory of industrial location suggests, however, that employment in this sector will decentralize as these industries mature and production processes are standardized. This study utilized shift-share analysis and Enhanced County Business Pattern data to determine the extent to which a metropolitan-to-nonmetroplitan employment shift occurred from 1975 to 1982. Employment shifts for nonmetropolitan counties of different sizes, adjacency status, and cenus regions were estimated. Also, the specific high-technology manufacturers (four-digit SIC) participating in the decentralization process were identified. The findings of this study indicate that nonmetropolitan employment in the high-tech sector increased by more than 13,000 as a result of decentralization. Small-and mediumsized nonmetropolitan counties and nonmetropolitan areas in New England, the South, and the West experienced the greatest gains in high-technology employment. Urban-to-rural employment shifts in innovative high-technology industries was restricted to primarily counties adjacent to metropolitan areas and nonmetropolitan counties in the New England and Pacific regions. INCE 1980, THE GROWTH AND LOCATIONAL DYNAMICS of S high-technology industries have received considerable attention in the economics and regional science literature. For example, Riche et al. (1983), Tomaskovic-Devey and Miller (1982) , Browne (1983), and Armington et al. (1983) have estimated the employment growth potential of high-technology industries and the ability of this sector to replace the jobs lost in the more traditional "smokestack" industries. Appelbaum (1981), Etzioni and Jargowsky (1984), Clair (1986) and Flynn (1986) examined the occupational structure of high-technology industries and forecast the sector's future occupational demands. The locational preferences of hightechnology firms and the characteristics of communities or regions which have been successful in attracting or generating these firms were analyzed David L. Barkley i s an associate professor of agricultural economics at the University of Arizona.

The elusive inequality-economic growth relationship: are there differences between cities and the countryside?

“…Regarding agglomeration, the proximity of sophisticated services, suppliers, and high-skilled labor makes cities more attractive to firms compared to non-urban areas (Barkley 1988). Likewise, Moomaw and Alwosabi (2004) conclude that general economic cost considerations explain the primacy of urban areas.…”

Estimating population change with a two-category shift-share model

“…The accounting approach continues to be central to many empirical studies of the North American space-economy. Recent applications have been evident in studies addressing the rural decentralization of high-technology industries across the U.S. (Barkley 1988), manufacturing performance in Quebec (Andrikopoulos et al 1990), and the links that exist between defense spending and trade positions of U.S states (Noponen et al 1996). In a more sophisticated study, shift-share has been integrated with data envelopment methods and input-output analysis to assess the relative efficiencies of industries within the state of Virginia (Dinc and Haynes 1999).…”

Formation, growth and mobility of technology-based firms in the US economy*

“…Several studies relate high-technology establishment patterns to the resulting locational patterns (Miller & Cote, 1987;Barkley, 1988). However, these studies did not examine differences in firm headquarters and their resulting branches.…”