Manufacturing Decline and Technology Lags in Nonmetropolitan Illinois

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Abstract
Numerous studies have focused on national and regional manufacturing decline in the U.S., but far less attention has been placed on decline in substate areas. This oversight is troublesome because manufacturing decline in substate areas, particularly in the Midwest, has been severe and prolonged. This paper, therefore, examines the causes of manufacturing decline at the substate level. Specifically, I evaluate whether the impact of factors influencing decline varies according to the size and location of medium‐ and small‐sized cities in Illinois. Survey data and loglinear modeling methods are used for the empirical analysis. The results indicate that the impact of technology lags in substate areas varies significantly by the size of cities. The effects of technology, the regional shift of manufacturing, and federal trade policies are influenced by the relative location of cities.