Uneven Economic Development in the South of the United States

• Project/Area Number: 07680160
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Human geography
• Research Institution: Saitama University
• Principal Investigator: KANNO Mineaki Saitama University, Faculty of Liberal Arts, Professor, 教養学部, 教授 (10114208)
• Project Period (FY): 1995 – 1997
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 1997)
• Budget Amount: ¥1,400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000); Fiscal Year 1997: ¥400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥400,000); Fiscal Year 1996: ¥300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥300,000); Fiscal Year 1995: ¥700,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000)
• Keywords: United States of America / the South / economic development / uneven development / polarization / アメリカ合衆国南部

Research Abstract

The purpose of this study is to find out factors of uneven economic development in the South of the United States since the 1980's. Industrialization, growth in service sector, changes in agriculture and levels in income are analyzed with reference to the uneven economic development. The following results are obtained.
(1) The South experienced the rapid increase in population and employment in the 1970's. And the South became to be called Sunbelt.
(2) In the 1980's, the rate of increase in employment in the rural areas of the South became low because the relative advantage of cheap labor in the rural areas was lost due to the increase in income in the rural areas.
(3) Most of the counties which show the continued economic development are included in the Metropolitan Statistical Areas and the metropolitan areas of the regional central cities. These counties have experienced the increase in employment and income because of suburbanization, growth in service sector with suburbanization, increase in office activities with laborers living in the suburbs, and diffusion of factories from central cities and increase in branch plants.
(4) On the other hand, most of the counties in the Appallachian mountains, the Atlantic Coastal plain, the Mississippi delta, which are stagnant in economic development, are rural and low in income level. These counties are distant from metropolitan areas and it is difficult for people living in these counties to commute to cities to get income from non-agricultural activities.
(5) The labor intensive manufacturing that moved into the rural areas in the South between 1970 and 1980 are subject to severe competition from foreign countries. The rate of increase in employment in non-agricultural activities is slowed down and economic development is stagnant in these areas.