Abstract
Markusen A. (1986) Neither ore, nor coal nor markets: a policy-oriented view of steel sites in the USA, Reg. Studies 20, 449–462. Locational work on steel stresses the growing role of consuming markets over resources in shaping the evolution of mill sites. Here it is argued that four additional factors have governed steel siting in the USA: agglomeration economies, oligopolistic behaviour, the role of the state, and conflict between capital and labour. The relative strength of each factor varies by era and region. As a result, the economic development prospects for places like Pittsburgh and Chicago are quite different.