Control Factors in the Economic Development of Nonmetropolitan America

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Abstract
Nonmetropolitan counties of the United States have shown a remarkable degree of economic growth and diversity in the 1970s. This paper examines three control mechanisms behind these changes and concludes that: the interstate highway system was not a major determining factor in the spatial pattern of nonmetropolitan development, branch plants of manufacturing companies seemed to contribute to employment stability in these areas, and unearned income played an increasing role over time in the economic base of these rural areas. These conclusions, therefore, separate some of the realities from the myths that have surrounded the growth of nonmetropolitan America.