Policy models such as Input-Output (IO) or Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) are deterministic, with exogenous final demand shocks producing point estimates of local impacts. Confidence intervals around these point estimates, while desirable, are not readily available. Using the causal...

Urban sprawl has been criticized for its disproportionate impact on the environment. Yet urban areas are in fact less land-intensive than recent rural development patterns. Residential first-movers into such virgin areas may spark waves of ensuing development without incorporating the true...

Evaluating regional industrial structures remains an inexact process as traditional aggregation schemes often lump superficially similar but behaviorally distinct industries together. We use pairwise cointegration methods to apply econometric criteria to aggregate detailed industries into...

The effects of travel distance on visitation and associated recreation benefits are tested for a large national park. Visitor responses to a survey depicting various natural resource scenarios at Rocky Mountain National Park were used to estimate the effects of distance traveled on nature-based...

An introduction to the special issue on Rural and Regional Development.

We explore the variations in regional economic growth within 26 countries relative to the OECD norm between 1998 and 2003. This analysis sheds light on the role of regions in determining national growth patterns, while also providing a method similar to shift-share that can assess the relative...

This paper exploits the variation in union membership among states to analyze the impact of right-to-work (RTW) laws on union density. The study is unique in its use of controls for employer opposition to unions, political affiliation, and social capital. These variables capture different...