Different Perspectives on Economic Base · Tri Cities are Kennewick, Richland, and Pasco, WA. b...
Transcript of Different Perspectives on Economic Base · Tri Cities are Kennewick, Richland, and Pasco, WA. b...
Different Perspectives onEconomic Base
United StatesDepartment ofAgriculture
Forest Service
Pacific NorthwestResearch Station
Research NotePNW-RN-538April 1999
Lisa K. Crone, Richard W. Haynes, and Nicholas E. Reyna
Abstract Two general approaches for measuring an economic base are discussed. Eachmethod was used to define the economic base for each of the counties includedin the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project area. A moredetailed look at four selected counties results in similar findings from bothapproaches. Limitations of economic base analyses are noted.
Keywords: Economic base, functional economies, Columbia River basin.
Introduction Initial comments on the environmental impact statements from the Interior ColumbiaBasin Ecosystem Management Project1 (ICBEMP; USDA and USDI 1997a, 1997b)indicated dissatisfaction with descriptions of the economy and economic conditionsof the Columbia River basin. Much of the dissatisfaction stemmed from the scaleused to portray the economic situation in the area. Most comments expressed dis-agreement with the summary finding that only 4 percent of the region’s employmentis natural resource based (that is, in wood products, ranching, and mining).
LISA K. CRONE and RICHARD W. HAYNES are research foresters,Forestry Sciences Laboratory, P.O. Box 3890, Portland, OR 97208-3890; and NICHOLAS E. REYNA was an economist, Pacific North-west Region, P.O. Box 3623, Portland, OR 97208-3623. Portland,Oregon. Crone is located at the Interior Columbia Basin EcosystemManagement Project, 112 E. Poplar, Walla Walla, WA 99362. Reynais a program manager, State and Private Forestry, 3825 E. MulberryStreet, Fort Collins, CO 80524.
1 The Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Projectwas organized to develop a scientifically sound, ecosystem-based management strategy for FS- and BLM-administeredlands in the interior Columbia River basin. The project’s ScienceIntegration Team developed an ecosystem management frame-work, a scientific assessment, and an evaluation of alternativemanagement strategies. This paper is one of a series developed asbackground material for those documents. It provides more detailthan was possible to disclose directly in the primary documents.
2
In this paper, we will attempt to clarify the manner in which the information on theeconomic base was derived for the environmental impact statements at the U.S.Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) area and county level. We begin by definingwhat an economy is, as described in the economics component of the assessmentof ecosystem components (referred to as the economics assessment; Haynes andHorne 1997). We introduce the economic base concept and present two methods fordetermining the economic base of an area. County-level data are used to describe theeconomic base of the counties in the project area according to each method, with fourcounties selected for illustrative purposes. Finally, we point out the limitations of theseapproaches in describing present and predicting future economic conditions in anarea.
An Economy An economy can be defined as a set of interrelated production and consumptionactivities (Lipsey and others 1984). In the economic assessment, we adopted theBEA definition of functional economies;2 that is, a functional economy is one largeenough to include the bulk of economic transactions or flow of trade. In general,functional economies are larger than a community or county. Projected employ-ment levels for 1995 for the BEA areas (or portions thereof) in the project areaare summarized in table 1.
Note that a region’s economy is not the same as that of a county or community.Some confusion arises because economic data are generally collected and reportedat the county level, even though this is not the scale at which economies operate.Just because counties are the reporting level does not imply that they represent theeconomy in a broader area, or at the community level; for example, while a regionaleconomy may be thriving, the county or community economy could be contractingand vice versa.
Economic Base The economic base of an area consists of those activities that provide the coreemployment and income on which the rest of the local economy depends. Concernsabout what constitutes the economic base and its size are part of trying to under-stand how various activities might affect opportunities for the people living in thearea and those whose well-being depends on the level of economic activity in thearea.
2 For a detailed description of the methodology used by the BEA todelineate these areas, see Johnson (1995). In 1995, the BEA areaswere redefined based mainly on new information on commutingpatterns. This resulted in the aggregation of the Butte BEA regioninto the Missoula BEA region. Because the data reported in theeconomic assessment were based on the previous area definitions,those area definitions are maintained here for consistency.
3
Tabl
e 1—
Pro
ject
ed e
mpl
oym
ent f
or th
e N
atio
n an
d in
terio
r C
olum
bia
basi
n, 1
995
Inte
rior
Col
umbi
aba
sin
Idah
oR
edm
ond-
Indu
stry
Nat
ion
aver
age
Tri
Citi
esa
Spo
kane
Mis
soul
aFa
llsTw
in F
alls
Boi
seP
endl
eton
Ben
dbB
utte
Per
cent
Man
ufac
turi
ng e
mpl
oym
ent:
Agr
icul
ture
ser
vice
s1.
142.
564.
411.
131.
922.
694.
722.
532.
632.
130.
92M
inin
g.6
6.4
5.2
3.6
1.6
4.8
3.2
6.3
80
01.
47C
onst
ruct
ion
5.20
4.65
4.21
4.55
5.40
5.38
5.37
5.09
3.48
4.58
3.48
Man
ufac
turi
ng—
14.1
111
.71
11.2
911
.20
11.5
39.
5911
.66
12.5
514
.96
16.0
44.
40S
IC 2
4c.5
72.
521.
002.
794.
98.5
1.5
02.
322.
655.
542.
35Tr
ansp
orta
tion
4.76
4.30
3.34
4.30
5.67
3.72
4.72
4.88
4.53
3.76
6.04
Trad
e21
.49
21.1
421
.11
22.1
021
.41
21.9
321
.10
20.3
818
.97
20.7
020
.33
FIR
Ed
7.53
6.00
4.64
6.65
6.22
5.52
5.64
7.71
4.53
5.48
6.78
Se
rvic
es
28.3
825
.02
23.2
126
.79
27.3
627
.24
21.3
624
.17
20.8
623
.65
31.6
8
Gov
ernm
ent
(all)
:14
.57
16.3
914
.60
18.7
615
.00
15.7
911
.01
16.3
417
.81
15.1
423
.08
Sta
te a
nd lo
cal g
over
nmen
t10
.44
12.1
811
.92
14.0
410
.52
11.7
99.
0410
.32
13.3
811
.05
18.5
0
Farm
em
ploy
men
te2.
167.
7812
.96
3.92
4.85
7.31
14.1
55.
9812
.22
8.51
1.83
Bol
d =
em
ploy
men
t sec
tors
gre
ater
than
the
natio
nal a
vera
ge.
a Tri
Citi
es a
re K
enne
wic
k, R
ichl
and,
and
Pas
co, W
A.
b R
edm
ond-
Ben
d is
the
port
ion
of th
e P
ortla
nd-S
alem
BE
A r
egio
n th
at is
in th
e in
teri
or C
olum
bia
basi
n.c S
ourc
es fo
r S
IC 2
4 (w
ood
prod
ucts
) em
ploy
men
t wer
e S
tate
Bur
eau
of L
abor
Sta
tistic
s R
epor
ts e
xcep
t for
the
natio
nal a
vera
ge w
hich
was
from
199
0 da
ta in
Beu
ter
(199
5).
d F
inan
cial
, ins
uran
ce, a
nd r
eal e
stat
e in
dust
ries
.e F
arm
em
ploy
men
t is
calc
ulat
ed a
s th
e di
ffere
nce
betw
een
tota
l em
ploy
men
t and
cov
ered
em
ploy
men
t. B
ecau
se it
is c
alcu
late
d as
a d
iffer
ence
, it i
nclu
des
roun
ding
err
ors.
Sou
rce:
Hay
nes
and
Hor
ne 1
997.
4
The fundamental problem is how to identify and measure the economic base of anarea. Several methods have been used to define what constitutes the economicbase; here we discuss and compare two. The first method is called the assumption(or assignment) approach. In this approach, selected industries are assumed tocomprise the economic base. A frequently used assumption is that all manufacturingand agriculture defines the economic base, because these industries traditionallyproduce exports sold outside the local area. The other method is called the locationquotient approach. With this approach, the economic base is defined by those indus-tries that reflect local specialization. Sales, value added, income, and employment canall be used as “units of measure” to identify the economic base of the local economy.Both approaches generally rely on indirect measures, such as income or employmentdata, to determine the basic industries and their sizes, because detailed surveys ofexactly what gets exported are difficult and costly.
In the economic work for ICBEMP, the location quotient approach was used to identifythe industries forming the foundation of a region’s economy. The implication was thatanything that harms or decreases these industries threatens the regional economy.We adopted this approach after vigorous debate at public meetings hosted by ICBEMPstaff early in the development of the project. Much of the debate focused on whatconstituted functional economies and the roles of various industries in a functionaleconomy.
In the economic assessment, we used the convention that every industry can bedivided into the proportion that is exported (referred to as “basic” activities) versusthat serving local markets (or “nonbasic” activities). Proponents of economic basemodels argue that basic activities help support nonbasic activities by increasing theflow of money into and within an economic area.
We adopted the view that the economic growth of the project area depends on thoseeconomic sectors producing a significant share of their output for export. This is adeparture from the traditional approach taken by the Bureau of Land Management andthe Forest Service of focusing only on jobs in the ranching or manufacturing sectors.Many exporting sectors would have been missed with the traditional approach, butthey were accounted for with our approach. Because many of these nontraditionalexport industries are growth industries, and many of the traditional ones are not,it is important to portray these evolving industries as accurately as possible.
The economic bases in 1994 for the project area counties, from several variations ofthe assumption method, are shown in table 2. Figure 1 illustrates the amount of naturalresource employment in each county. This figure indicates significant variation amongcounties in the project area in terms of their levels of natural resource employment.
An example of the location quotient approach is shown in table 3. Here, the 1994percentage of county employment in a particular sector (such as construction) iscompared to the 1995 national percentage of projected employment in that sector.If the county percentage exceeds the national percentage, the sector is considereda basic sector.
Determiningthe EconomicBase
5
Table 2—Various assumption method definitions of economic base for 1994
TotalCounty State Manufacturinga SIC 24b Miningc Ranchingd resourcee
Ada ID XAdams ID X X XBannock IDBenewah ID X X XBingham ID XBlaine IDBoise ID XBonner ID XBonneville IDBoundary ID X X XButte ID XCamas IDCanyon ID XCaribou ID X X XCassia ID XClark ID X XClearwater ID X X XCuster ID X XElmore IDFremont IDGem ID X X XGooding IDIdaho ID X XJefferson ID XJerome IDKootenai ID XLatah IDLemhi ID XLewis ID X X XLincoln IDMadison ID XMinidoka ID XNez Perce ID XOwyhee ID X XPayette ID XPower ID XShoshone ID XTeton IDTwin Falls ID XValley IDWashington ID X XDeer Lodge MTFlathead MT XGranite MT X X XLake MT
6
Table 2—Various assumption method definitions of economic base for 1994(continued)
TotalCounty State Manufacturinga SIC 24b Miningc Ranchingd resourcee
Lewis and Clark MTLincoln MT X X XMineral MT XMissoula MTPowell MT X XRavalli MT XSanders MT XSilver Bow MTBaker OR XCrook OR X X XDeschutes OR XGilliam ORGrant OR X X XHarney OR X X XHood River OR XJefferson OR X X XKlamath OR X XLake OR X X XMalheur ORMorrow OR XSherman ORUmatilla OR XUnion OR XWallowa OR X XWasco OR XWheeler OR X XAdams WA XAsotin WABenton WAChelan WAColumbia WA XDouglas WAFerry WA X XFranklin WAGarfield WA X XGrant WA XKittitas WAKlickitat WA X XLincoln WAOkanogan WAPend Oreille WA X XSkamania WA XSpokane WAStevens WA X X
7
Table 2—Various assumption method definitions of economic base for 1994(continued)
TotalCounty State Manufacturinga SIC 24b Miningc Ranchingd resourcee
Walla Walla WA XWhitman WAYakima WA XTeton WY
a X = county has more than 10 percent of its total employment in manufacturing, which includes StandardIndustrial Classification (SIC) 24.b X = county has more than 10 percent of its total employment in the wood products sector (SIC 24).c X = county has more than 10 percent of its total employment in mining.d X = county has more than 10 percent of its total employment in ranching.e X = county has more than 10 percent of its total employment in natural resources (the sum of mining,ranching, and wood products).
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis 1996.
Figure 1—Resource employment in counties in the interior Columbia basin.
8
Tabl
e 3—
Eco
nom
ic b
ase
of e
ach
coun
ty (
in b
old)
acc
ordi
ng to
an
empl
oym
ent l
ocat
ion
quot
ient
def
initi
ona
Agr
icul
tura
lM
anu-
Tota
lA
rea
Sta
tese
rvic
esM
inin
gC
onst
ruct
ion
fact
urin
gbS
IC 2
4cTr
ansp
orta
tion
Trad
eF
IRE
dS
ervi
ces
Gov
ernm
ent
Farm
Nat
ion
1.14
0.66
5.20
14.1
14.
7621
.49
7.53
28.3
814
.57
2.16
CIB
ave
rage
2.56
.45
4.65
11.7
12.
524.
3021
.14
6.00
25.0
216
.39
7.78
Ada
ID1.
19.1
78.
8912
.64
1.28
4.50
22.3
68.
9726
.89
13.4
0.9
8A
dam
sID
2.36
D
D18
.58
17.1
53.
3413
.41
3.80
13.1
823
.36
21.9
8B
anno
ckID
.87
.15
5.79
6.78
.08
6.66
26.4
66.
7521
.83
22.5
72.
14B
enew
ahID
DD
5.03
27.7
320
.00
6.82
15.1
83.
2017
.92
16.3
57.
77B
ingh
amID
4.09
.28
4.99
14.3
7.1
22.
7822
.21
3.43
18.8
717
.17
11.8
0B
lain
eID
3.70
.63
13.8
42.
81.3
32.
3123
.11
10.8
931
.07
8.71
2.94
Boi
seID
5.50
L8.
9011
.19
6.76
3.89
14.9
31.
9927
.43
21.3
04.
86B
onne
rID
2.82
.53
10.2
916
.99
8.23
3.82
22.5
96.
6020
.01
13.2
63.
09B
onne
ville
ID1.
64.0
87.
785.
07.2
63.
0228
.70
5.66
32.7
412
.39
2.92
Bou
ndar
yID
3.03
L7.
3917
.91
10.2
44.
4417
.93
4.07
18.9
518
.26
8.02
But
teID
.38
DD
19.3
80
.19
3.72
.72
57.5
612
.62
5.43
Cam
asID
DL
3.28
3.11
02.
0719
.69
D13
.13
18.6
540
.07
Can
yon
ID4.
16.1
87.
6418
.70
2.08
5.06
19.7
14.
8321
.98
11.4
06.
35C
arib
ouID
2.60
11.6
86.
9915
.73
04.
2116
.00
3.09
11.5
914
.70
13.4
0C
assi
aID
5.27
.78
4.81
11.1
70
4.46
22.9
95.
6417
.58
13.4
113
.89
Cla
rkID
5.84
DL
D0
1.52
8.88
1.52
3.55
20.3
058
.38
Cle
arw
ater
ID4.
08.3
23.
9922
.25
16.2
43.
2016
.69
2.96
13.5
828
.13
4.81
Cus
ter
ID4.
0210
.20
8.86
1.19
03.
4617
.95
2.98
18.9
918
.99
13.3
3E
lmor
eID
1.51
L3.
953.
790
2.87
14.9
94.
6310
.75
49.5
37.
98Fr
emon
tID
4.99
L6.
094.
362.
904.
1319
.19
2.63
16.6
023
.37
18.6
5G
emID
4.68
D6.
5014
.03
12.1
43.
8915
.01
3.67
17.8
215
.87
18.5
2G
oodi
ngID
7.70
D6.
096.
200
8.11
16.7
90.
0015
.92
16.4
422
.75
Idah
oID
2.14
1.86
5.73
13.1
19.
675.
1918
.21
3.27
16.8
221
.57
12.1
0Je
ffers
onID
9.46
.25
10.0
611
.18
1.55
3.11
18.2
73.
4510
.17
16.5
817
.47
Jero
me
ID7.
43L
5.32
8.73
07.
6219
.04
3.71
16.3
712
.32
19.4
6K
oote
nai
ID1.
57.3
510
.81
11.1
63.
983.
5324
.53
7.65
25.5
413
.48
1.36
Lata
hID
1.48
.10
4.16
5.83
2.63
3.20
21.3
13.
3122
.56
33.9
94.
07Le
mhi
ID3.
602.
066.
826.
854.
393.
6520
.42
4.04
19.9
520
.47
12.1
3Le
wis
ID3.
08L
4.46
16.8
112
.57
3.79
23.4
12.
9917
.08
17.8
810
.52
Linc
oln
ID4.
62D
2.47
D0
3.47
11.0
91.
4712
.19
28.2
736
.42
Mad
ison
IDD
D3.
6210
.47
1.32
2.13
25.0
24.
3831
.93
12.5
89.
87M
inid
oka
ID7.
94L
4.73
19.1
90
5.06
19.0
52.
4213
.64
14.5
713
.40
9
Tabl
e 3—
Eco
nom
ic b
ase
of e
ach
coun
ty (
in b
old)
(co
ntin
ued)
Agr
icul
tura
lM
anu-
Tota
lA
rea
Sta
tese
rvic
esM
inin
gC
onst
ruct
ion
fact
urin
gbS
IC 2
4cTr
ansp
orta
tion
Trad
eF
IRE
dS
ervi
ces
Gov
ernm
ent
Farm
Nez
Per
ceID
DD
5.17
16.9
92.
675.
1923
.52
6.73
25.6
112
.61
4.18
One
ida
ID2.
384.
121.
192.
380
2.59
17.7
53.
8410
.48
27.3
927
.88
Ow
yhee
ID10
.26
3.48
3.70
3.56
06.
3513
.65
2.19
11.7
718
.12
26.9
2P
ayet
teID
3.64
.19
5.19
18.5
00
7.55
16.8
84.
3117
.47
12.6
013
.65
Pow
erID
2.60
L4.
6838
.00
06.
7812
.36
1.86
8.43
12.4
012
.89
Sho
shon
eID
.84
8.15
4.91
6.87
2.34
4.62
21.5
44.
7722
.81
24.7
6.7
2Te
ton
ID3.
920.
007.
783.
970
2.68
19.0
13.
5518
.29
19.1
721
.64
Twin
Fal
lsID
3.44
0.24
5.94
11.6
2.6
25.
4124
.84
6.01
23.1
912
.99
6.33
Val
ley
ID2.
871.
0310
.55
5.24
2.71
3.21
24.6
76.
6921
.01
22.1
62.
57W
ashi
ngto
nID
8.95
L3.
8114
.00
7.16
3.72
18.6
84.
9615
.76
15.3
914
.72
Dee
r Lo
dge
MT
1.46
1.33
4.28
3.59
03.
8320
.91
3.27
28.4
330
.66
2.26
Fla
thea
dM
T1.
60.3
68.
1311
.89
4.78
5.02
23.8
56.
8328
.75
11.3
82.
19G
rani
teM
T3.
813.
883.
8122
.38
19.5
91.
7718
.44
1.84
12.8
619
.05
12.1
8La
keM
T3.
00.1
96.
698.
322.
932.
8219
.20
4.83
30.6
613
.21
11.0
8Le
wis
and
Cla
rkM
T.7
4.4
94.
463.
84.3
03.
9819
.90
7.55
31.5
925
.76
1.69
Linc
oln
MT
2.11
.58
4.10
23.2
415
.96
4.31
19.7
54.
3919
.84
18.8
02.
88M
iner
alM
T1.
660
3.52
11.1
34.
773.
7325
.36
3.18
24.9
522
.60
3.87
Mis
soul
aM
T1.
05.1
24.
906.
821.
626.
3825
.54
6.44
30.5
817
.29
.88
Pow
ell
MT
1.77
.60
3.87
10.1
06.
533.
0315
.97
4.83
17.7
731
.40
10.6
7R
aval
liM
T2.
96.8
78.
7610
.46
4.89
4.21
21.1
45.
7324
.53
13.0
28.
32S
ande
rsM
T2.
04.6
16.
289.
917.
526.
5416
.69
4.34
23.6
619
.60
10.3
3S
ilver
Bow
MT
.57
3.45
3.15
3.55
.03
7.50
27.0
15.
0433
.00
15.9
3.8
0B
aker
OR
1.84
1.06
5.04
9.62
5.09
4.83
20.3
24.
4223
.23
16.8
912
.74
Cro
okO
R2.
51.2
93.
6026
.97
23.6
74.
9719
.21
3.48
15.8
313
.85
9.30
Des
chut
esO
R1.
56.2
39.
0710
.89
5.17
3.52
25.1
18.
7527
.26
11.2
72.
35G
illia
mO
RD
0.9
12.
210
20.2
710
.52
3.05
10.2
914
.94
37.8
0G
rant
OR
2.46
04.
2414
.29
11.0
94.
0914
.78
2.76
17.5
325
.61
14.2
5H
arne
yO
R3.
39L
3.55
12.1
210
.47
3.53
14.9
72.
8216
.03
22.0
821
.51
Hoo
d R
iver
OR
4.89
D3.
6611
.89
4.06
5.34
22.8
40
25.1
910
.94
15.2
5Je
ffers
onO
RD
02.
7222
.68
15.9
32.
1217
.53
022
.08
16.6
016
.26
Kla
mat
hO
R2.
18.1
04.
3214
.26
9.47
4.46
22.7
65.
2023
.34
15.8
57.
53La
keO
R2.
55.4
83.
0113
.91
13.2
02.
4216
.13
2.53
12.1
521
.41
25.4
0M
alhe
urO
R6.
05.3
63.
307.
480
4.46
23.6
53.
6018
.11
15.3
417
.64
Mor
row
OR
8.72
L2.
5315
.09
3.32
6.17
9.18
2.75
8.15
16.4
031
.02
She
rman
OR
1.93
0L
00
2.99
25.4
2L
9.76
24.7
135
.18
Um
atill
aO
R2.
86L
3.32
15.5
82.
935.
2720
.61
4.85
21.2
016
.02
10.2
8
10
Tabl
e 3—
Eco
nom
ic b
ase
of e
ach
coun
ty (
in b
old)
(co
ntin
ued)
Agr
icul
tura
lM
anu-
Tota
lA
rea
Sta
tese
rvic
esM
inin
gC
onst
ruct
ion
fact
urin
gbS
IC 2
4cTr
ansp
orta
tion
Trad
eF
IRE
dS
ervi
ces
Gov
ernm
ent
Farm
Uni
onO
R2.
12.1
44.
2713
.47
8.04
5.32
22.0
14.
2420
.45
19.4
88.
51W
allo
wa
OR
3.44
L4.
6212
.75
6.58
4.33
16.2
94.
3814
.69
19.5
020
.00
Was
coO
R2.
14.1
02.
6510
.24
1.99
3.11
24.6
14.
7426
.25
17.5
08.
66W
heel
erO
R3.
170
L3.
02.9
12.
1111
.18
2.57
10.4
222
.05
45.4
7A
dam
sW
A7.
65D
D12
.48
05.
1219
.42
3.23
13.4
015
.18
23.5
3A
sotin
WA
DD
8.49
5.10
2.18
2.47
25.5
55.
4932
.13
16.0
04.
76B
ento
nW
A1.
88.1
05.
955.
930
2.22
1.85
4.53
42.2
913
.81
21.4
4C
hela
nW
A6.
92.4
55.
726.
33.4
72.
8123
.73
6.24
21.0
613
.61
13.1
3C
olum
bia
WA
2.94
D1.
9422
.06
0D
12.5
22.
4016
.32
24.6
417
.18
Dou
glas
WA
6.17
L4.
261.
420
4.81
19.6
64.
1916
.96
16.3
926
.16
Fer
ryW
AD
9.48
3.91
11.5
07.
49D
14.4
72.
9316
.46
27.3
413
.92
Fran
klin
WA
6.08
.06
5.19
5.29
.13
5.76
21.4
23.
4520
.90
16.0
915
.75
Gar
field
WA
1.79
01.
110.
940
1.37
20.0
54.
618.
7936
.77
24.5
7G
rant
WA
5.28
D4.
0411
.74
03.
9420
.09
D17
.43
16.8
420
.63
Kitt
itas
WA
1.82
.11
3.43
5.67
.96
4.41
25.5
23.
9620
.57
26.0
68.
45K
licki
tat
WA
0.3
04.
2316
.96
7.53
6.82
11.2
73.
1617
.23
21.1
518
.88
Linc
oln
WA
2.13
L3.
852.
080
2.13
20.5
65.
9714
.26
26.8
922
.13
Oka
noga
nW
A5.
46.3
03.
496.
144.
601.
8621
.15
3.84
18.7
417
.47
21.5
6P
end
Ore
ille
WA
3.01
.73
6.62
14.8
34.
142.
9616
.95
4.47
17.0
926
.72
6.62
Ska
man
iaW
A1.
60D
4.98
10.9
16.
543.
4210
.72
D27
.02
34.4
76.
88S
poka
neW
A.8
3.1
66.
139.
96.6
94.
5023
.68
7.93
30.3
415
.42
1.05
Ste
vens
WA
2.03
.74
4.27
19.3
38.
443.
5416
.19
3.58
24.4
317
.61
8.28
Wal
la W
alla
WA
1.74
.07
3.54
15.5
90
2.65
19.4
74.
1626
.90
17.9
07.
98W
hitm
anW
A1.
36L
2.43
1.49
1.11
2.40
18.6
44.
3518
.68
43.1
07.
55Ya
kim
aW
A4.
85.0
44.
9911
.85
2.00
3.71
9.64
4.92
27.2
614
.78
17.9
6Te
ton
WY
.79
09.
523.
17N
A2.
3823
.81
7.14
41.2
710
.32
1.59
D =
dat
a no
t rep
orte
d du
e to
dis
clos
ure
polic
y; L
= le
ss th
an 1
0 jo
bs; N
A =
not
ava
ilabl
e.a
Per
cent
age
of c
ount
y em
ploy
men
t in
each
sec
tor
with
sec
tors
hav
ing
a la
rger
per
cent
age
than
the
natio
nal p
erce
ntag
e co
nsid
ered
par
t of t
he e
cono
mic
bas
e an
d sh
own
in b
old
.b M
anuf
actu
ring
incl
udes
Sta
ndar
d In
dust
rial C
lass
ifica
tion
(SIC
) 24.
c SIC
24
for
woo
d pr
oduc
ts e
mpl
oym
ent.
d Fin
anci
al, i
nsur
ance
, and
real
est
ate
indu
strie
s.
Sou
rce:
U.S
. Dep
artm
ent o
f Com
mer
ce, B
urea
u of
Eco
nom
ic A
naly
sis
1996
.
11
The following tabulation can be used to compare tables 2 and 3. It shows four countiesin the project area (chosen because they traditionally have been considered timberdependent) and their respective basic employment sectors.
County Agricultural Manu-and state services Farming Mining facturing Government
Lincoln, MT 2.11 2.88 23.24 18.80Grant, OR 2.46 14.25 14.29 25.61Lake, OR 2.55 25.40 21.41Ferry, WA 13.92 9.48 27.34
These data suggest that in all four counties, the level of agricultural3 activity is highenough to be considered part of the economic base, but in only two counties is thelevel of manufacturing high enough to say that it is part of the economic base.
Under a cooperative agreement, Paul Polzin provided an assessment of the economicbase in each project area county.4 Polzin used the assumption approach in determin-ing which industries to include. In general, he included agriculture and agriculturalservices, mining, wood products, and Federal Government as basic sectors, withadditional basic sectors (such as railroad transportation and nonresident travel)differing by county. He computed the percentage of total economic base labor incomeaccruing to each base sector, on average, for the 5 years (1988 to 1992). Polzin’sresults are shown in table 4. We can compare his findings for the above four coun-ties with ours by first converting the above figures from percentage of total countyemployment to percentage of total county base employment. This yields the followingtabulation:
County Agricultural Manu-and state services Farming Mining facturing Government
Lincoln, MT 4.5 6.1 49.4 40.0Grant, OR 4.3 25.2 25.2 45.2Lake, OR 5.2 51.5 43.4Ferry, WA 27.4 18.7 53.9
3 Agriculture includes ranching.
4 Paul Polzin. Economic base profiles Interior Columbia Riverbasin, draft: December 8, 1994. Director, Bureau of Businessand Economic Research, University of Montana, Missoula, MT.On file with: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service;U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management;Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project,112 E. Poplar, Walla Walla, WA 99362.
12
Tabl
e 4—
Eco
nom
ic b
ase
as d
efin
ed in
ass
umpt
ion
appr
oach
use
d by
Pol
zin
Agr
icul
tura
lW
ood
Pul
p an
dM
anu-
Food
Oth
erR
ail-
Non
res.
Sta
teFe
dera
lM
isce
lla-
Cou
nty
Sta
tese
rvic
es
Min
ing
prod
uctio
npa
per
fact
urin
gpr
oduc
tion
basi
cro
ads
trav
elgo
vt.
Gov
t.C
omm
uter
sne
ous
Ada
IDX
XX
XA
dam
sID
XX
XB
anno
ckID
XX
XB
enew
ahID
XB
ingh
amID
XX
Bla
ine
IDX
XB
oise
IDX
XX
Bon
ner
IDX
Bon
nevi
lleID
XX
XX
a
Bou
ndar
yID
XX
XB
utte
IDX
a
Cam
asID
XX
XC
anyo
nID
XX
XX
Car
ibou
IDX
XC
assi
aID
XX
Cla
rkID
XC
lear
wat
erID
XX
Cus
ter
IDX
XE
lmor
eID
XX
Frem
ont
IDX
XX
XG
emID
XX
XG
oodi
ngID
XX
Idah
oID
XX
XJe
ffers
onID
XX
Jero
me
IDX
XX
Koo
tena
iID
XX
XLa
tah
IDX
XX
Lem
hiID
XX
XLe
wis
IDX
XLi
ncol
nID
XX
XM
adis
onID
XX
Xb
Min
idok
aID
XX
Nez
Per
ceID
XX
XO
neid
aID
XX
13
Tabl
e 4—
Eco
nom
ic b
ase
as d
efin
ed in
ass
umpt
ion
appr
oach
use
d by
Pol
zin
(con
tinue
d)
Agr
icul
tura
lW
ood
Pul
p an
dM
anu-
Food
Oth
erR
ail-
Non
res.
Sta
teFe
dera
lM
isce
lla-
Cou
nty
Sta
tese
rvic
es
Min
ing
prod
uctio
npa
per
fact
urin
gpr
oduc
tion
basi
cro
ads
trav
elgo
vt.
Gov
t.C
omm
uter
sne
ous
Ow
yhee
IDX
XX
Pay
ette
IDX
XX
XP
ower
IDX
XX
Sho
shon
eID
XTe
ton
IDX
XTw
in F
alls
IDX
XV
alle
yID
XX
XX
Was
hing
ton
IDX
XD
eer L
odge
MT
XX
Fla
thea
dM
TX
XX
Gra
nite
MT
XX
XX
Lake
MT
XX
XX
Lew
is a
nd C
lark
MT
XX
Xc
Linc
oln
MT
XX
XM
iner
alM
TX
XM
isso
ula
MT
XX
XX
Xc
Pow
ell
MT
XX
XX
Rav
alli
MT
XX
XS
ande
rsM
TX
XX
Silv
er B
owM
TX
XX
Xd
Bak
erO
RX
XX
XC
rook
OR
XX
Des
chut
esO
RX
XX
XG
illia
mO
RX
Gra
ntO
RX
XX
Har
ney
OR
XX
XH
ood
Riv
erO
RX
XX
XJe
ffers
onO
RX
XX
Kla
mat
hO
RX
XX
Lake
OR
XX
XM
alhe
urO
RX
XM
orro
wO
RX
XX
She
rman
OR
XX
Um
atill
aO
RX
XX
14
Tabl
e 4—
Eco
nom
ic b
ase
as d
efin
ed in
ass
umpt
ion
appr
oach
use
d by
Pol
zin
(con
tinue
d)
Agr
icul
tura
lW
ood
Pul
p an
dM
anu-
Food
Oth
erR
ail-
Non
res.
Sta
teFe
dera
lM
isce
lla-
Cou
nty
Sta
tese
rvic
es
Min
ing
prod
uctio
npa
per
fact
urin
gpr
oduc
tion
basi
cro
ads
trav
elgo
vt.
Gov
t.C
omm
uter
sne
ous
Uni
onO
RX
XX
Wal
low
aO
RX
XX
Was
coO
RX
XX
XX
Whe
eler
OR
XA
dam
sW
AX
XA
sotin
WA
XX
XX
Ben
ton
WA
Xe
Che
lan
WA
XX
XC
olum
bia
WA
XX
Dou
glas
WA
XX
Fer
ryW
AX
XX
XX
Fran
klin
WA
XX
XG
arfie
ldW
AX
XG
rant
WA
XX
Kitt
itas
WA
XX
XX
XX
Klic
kita
tW
AX
XX
Linc
oln
WA
XO
kano
gan
WA
XX
XP
end
Ore
ille
WA
XX
XX
Ska
man
iaW
AX
XX
Spo
kane
WA
XX
XS
teve
nsW
AX
XX
Wal
la W
alla
WA
XX
XX
XW
hitm
anW
AX
XYa
kim
aW
AX
XX
Teto
nW
YX
X
X =
sec
tor
acco
unte
d fo
r at
leas
t 10
perc
ent o
f the
tota
l bas
e la
bor
inco
me
acco
rdin
g to
ass
umpt
ion
appr
oach
use
d by
Pol
zin.
a Ida
ho N
atio
nal L
abor
ator
y.b
Priv
ate
colle
ge.
c Tra
de c
ente
r.d U
tility
hea
dqua
rter
s.e U
.S. D
epar
tmen
t of E
nerg
y H
anfo
rd s
ite.
Sou
rce:
Pau
l Pol
zin
(see
text
foot
note
3).
15
Polzin’s findings are as follows:
Agriculture
and
County agricultural Wood M anu- Heavy Rail- Nonresident Federal
and state services Mining products facturing construction road travel Government Other
Lincoln, MT 3.5 16.9 53.4 2.8 2.3 1.7 19.4
Grant, OR 13.4 .6 48.6 5.0 32.2
Lake, OR 33.0 2.0 31.7 30.5 2.8
Ferry, WA 27.1 39.1 20.0 10.9 2.8
Several points of clarification between the two tabulations are in order. First, ourfigures for the government sector included all levels of government in the county;Polzin classified Federal Government as basic but state and local governmentas nonbasic. Additionally, the wood products industry was not separated from themanufacturing sector in our tabulation, as was the case in Polzin’s analysis for threeof the four counties. Finally, it is not clear whether farm income is included in Polzin’sagriculture and agricultural services sector in cases where a farm is incorporated.
For Lincoln County, it is worth knowing that in 1993 a copper and zinc mine closed,which caused mining employment and mining labor income to fall by 90 percent and80 percent, respectively, between 1992 and 1994. Breaking out the wood productscomponent of the manufacturing sector for Lincoln County reveals that 33.9 percent ofbase employment was in this sector. In Grant County, the wood products componentof manufacturing accounts for 19.5 percent of base employment. In Ferry County,the percentage of employment in the manufacturing sector in 1994 is less than thenational average; thus, neither it nor the wood products sector is included as part ofthe economic base in the location quotient approach. For Lake County, neither miningnor manufacturing meets the location quotient cutoff; however, the wood productssector does account for 95 percent of employment in the manufacturing sector and13.2 percent of total employment in the county.
With these caveats noted and bearing in mind that we are comparing different years,the overall numbers do not appear to be too different across the two economic baseapproaches. If one is interested simply in examining the existing economic conditionsin the counties, with no predictive emphasis, perhaps the best descriptor is a simplebreakdown of total employment with no distinction in basic vs. nonbasic. In table 5,the employment data from table 3 are reproduced with the sectors having more than10 percent of a county’s total employment highlighted. The top five sectors for eachof the four counties listed above are:
Lincoln: Services (19.84 percent), trade (19.75 percent), government (18.80 percent),wood products (15.96 percent), and other manufacturing (7.28 percent)
Grant: Government (25.61 percent), services (17.53 percent), trade (14.78 percent),farm (14.25 percent), and wood products (11.09 percent)
Lake: Farm (25.4 percent), government (21.4 percent), trade (16.13 percent), woodproducts (13.2 percent), and services (12.15 percent)
Ferry: Government (27.34 percent), services (16.46 percent), trade (14.47 percent),farm (13.92 percent), and mining (9.48 percent)
16
Tabl
e 5—
Per
cent
age
of to
tal c
ount
y em
ploy
men
t in
each
indu
stry
, int
erio
r C
olum
bia
basi
n, 1
994
Agr
icul
tura
lM
anu-
Tota
lC
ount
yS
tate
serv
ices
Min
ing
Con
stru
ctio
nfa
ctur
inga
SIC
24b
Tran
spor
tatio
nTr
ade
FIR
Ec
Ser
vice
sgo
vern
men
tFa
rm
Ada
ID1.
190.
178.
8912
.64
1.28
4.50
22.3
68.
9726
.89
13.4
00.
98A
dam
sID
2.36
DD
18.5
817
.15
3.34
13.4
13.
8013
.18
23.3
621
.98
Ban
nock
ID.8
7.1
55.
796.
78.0
86.
6626
.46
6.75
21.8
322
.57
2.14
Ben
ewah
IDD
D5.
0327
.73
20.0
06.
8215
.18
3.20
17.9
216
.35
7.77
Bin
gham
ID4.
09.2
84.
9914
.37
.12
2.78
22.2
13.
4318
.87
17.1
711
.80
Bla
ine
ID3.
70.6
313
.84
2.81
.33
2.31
23.1
110
.89
31.0
78.
712.
94B
oise
ID5.
50L
8.90
11.1
96.
763.
8914
.93
1.99
27.4
321
.30
4.86
Bon
ner
ID2.
82.5
310
.29
16.9
98.
233.
8222
.59
6.60
20.0
113
.26
3.09
Bon
nevi
lleID
1.64
.08
7.78
5.07
.26
3.02
28.7
05.
6632
.74
12.3
92.
92B
ound
ary
ID3.
03L
7.39
17.9
110
.24
4.44
17.9
34.
0718
.95
18.2
68.
02B
utte
ID.3
8D
D19
.38
0.1
93.
72.7
257
.56
12.6
25.
43C
amas
IDD
L3.
283.
110
2.07
19.6
9D
13.1
318
.65
40.0
7C
anyo
nID
4.16
.18
7.64
18.7
02.
085.
0619
.71
4.83
21.9
811
.40
6.35
Car
ibou
ID2.
6011
.68
6.99
15.7
30
4.21
16.0
03.
0911
.59
14.7
013
.40
Cas
sia
ID5.
27.7
84.
8111
.17
04.
4622
.99
5.64
17.5
813
.41
13.8
9C
lark
ID5.
84D
LD
01.
528.
881.
523.
5520
.30
58.3
8C
lear
wat
erID
4.08
.32
3.99
22.2
516
.24
3.20
16.6
92.
9613
.58
28.1
34.
81C
uste
rID
4.02
10.2
08.
861.
190
3.46
17.9
52.
9818
.99
18.9
913
.33
Elm
ore
ID1.
51L
3.95
3.79
02.
8714
.99
4.63
10.7
549
.53
7.98
Frem
ont
ID4.
99L
6.09
4.36
2.90
4.13
19.1
92.
6316
.60
23.3
718
.65
Gem
ID4.
68D
6.50
14.0
312
.14
3.89
15.0
13.
6717
.82
15.8
718
.52
Goo
ding
ID7.
70D
6.09
6.20
08.
1116
.79
015
.92
16.4
422
.75
Idah
oID
2.14
1.86
5.73
13.1
19.
675.
1918
.21
3.27
16.8
221
.57
12.1
0Je
ffers
onID
9.46
.25
10.0
611
.18
1.55
3.11
18.2
73.
4510
.17
16.5
817
.47
Jero
me
ID7.
43L
5.32
8.73
07.
6219
.04
3.71
16.3
712
.32
19.4
6K
oote
nai
ID1.
57.3
510
.81
11.1
63.
983.
5324
.53
7.65
25.5
413
.48
1.36
Lata
hID
1.48
.10
4.16
5.83
2.63
3.20
21.3
13.
3122
.56
33.9
94.
07Le
mhi
ID3.
602.
066.
826.
854.
393.
6520
.42
4.04
19.9
520
.47
12.1
3Le
wis
ID3.
08L
4.46
16.8
112
.57
3.79
23.4
12.
9917
.08
17.8
810
.52
Linc
oln
ID4.
62D
2.47
D0
3.47
11.0
91.
4712
.19
28.2
736
.42
Mad
ison
IDD
D3.
6210
.47
1.32
2.13
25.0
24.
3831
.93
12.5
89.
87M
inid
oka
ID7.
94L
4.73
19.1
90
5.06
19.0
52.
4213
.64
14.5
713
.40
Nez
Per
ceID
DD
5.17
16.9
92.
675.
1923
.52
6.73
25.6
112
.61
4.18
One
ida
ID2.
384.
121.
192.
380
2.59
17.7
53.
8410
.48
27.3
927
.88
17
Tabl
e 5—
Per
cent
age
of to
tal c
ount
y em
ploy
men
t in
each
indu
stry
, int
erio
r C
olum
bia
basi
n, 1
994
(con
tinue
d)
Agr
icul
tura
lM
anu-
Tota
lC
ount
yS
tate
serv
ices
Min
ing
Con
stru
ctio
nfa
ctur
inga
SIC
24b
Tran
spor
tatio
nTr
ade
FIR
Ec
Ser
vice
sgo
vern
men
tFa
rm
Ow
yhee
ID10
.26
3.48
3.70
3.56
06.
3513
.65
2.19
11.7
718
.12
26.9
2P
ayet
teID
3.64
.19
5.19
18.5
00
7.55
16.8
84.
3117
.47
12.6
013
.65
Pow
erID
2.60
L4.
6838
.00
06.
7812
.36
1.86
8.43
12.4
012
.89
Sho
shon
eID
0.84
8.15
4.91
6.87
2.34
4.62
21.5
44.
7722
.81
24.7
6.7
2Te
ton
ID3.
920
7.78
3.97
02.
6819
.01
3.55
18.2
919
.17
21.6
4Tw
in F
alls
ID3.
44.2
45.
9411
.62
.62
5.41
24.8
46.
0123
.19
12.9
96.
33V
alle
yID
2.87
1.03
10.5
55.
242.
713.
2124
.67
6.69
21.0
122
.16
2.57
Was
hing
ton
ID8.
95L
3.81
14.0
07.
163.
7218
.68
4.96
15.7
615
.39
14.7
2D
eer L
odge
MT
1.46
1.33
4.28
3.59
03.
8320
.91
3.27
28.4
330
.66
2.26
Fla
thea
dM
T1.
60.3
68.
1311
.89
4.78
5.02
23.8
56.
8328
.75
11.3
82.
19G
rani
teM
T3.
813.
883.
8122
.38
19.5
91.
7718
.44
1.84
12.8
619
.05
12.1
8La
keM
T3.
00.1
96.
698.
322.
932.
8219
.20
4.83
30.6
613
.21
11.0
8Le
wis
and
Cla
rkM
T.7
4.4
94.
463.
84.3
03.
9819
.90
7.55
31.5
925
.76
1.69
Linc
oln
MT
2.11
.58
4.10
23.2
415
.96
4.31
19.7
54.
3919
.84
18.8
02.
88M
iner
alM
T1.
660
3.52
11.1
34.
773.
7325
.36
3.18
24.9
522
.60
3.87
Mis
soul
aM
T1.
05.1
24.
906.
821.
626.
3825
.54
6.44
30.5
817
.29
.88
Pow
ell
MT
1.77
.60
3.87
10.1
06.
533.
0315
.97
4.83
17.7
731
.40
10.6
7R
aval
liM
T2.
96.8
78.
7610
.46
4.89
4.21
21.1
45.
7324
.53
13.0
28.
32S
ande
rsM
T2.
04.6
16.
289.
917.
526.
5416
.69
4.34
23.6
619
.60
10.3
3S
ilver
Bow
MT
.57
3.45
3.15
3.55
.03
7.50
27.0
15.
0433
.00
15.9
3.8
0B
aker
OR
1.84
1.06
5.04
9.62
5.09
4.83
20.3
24.
4223
.23
16.8
912
.74
Cro
okO
R2.
51.2
93.
6026
.97
23.6
74.
9719
.21
3.48
15.8
313
.85
9.30
Des
chut
esO
R1.
56.2
39.
0710
.89
5.17
3.52
25.1
18.
7527
.26
11.2
72.
35G
illia
mO
RD
0.9
12.
210
20.2
710
.52
3.05
10.2
914
.94
37.8
0G
rant
OR
2.46
04.
2414
.29
11.0
94.
0914
.78
2.76
17.5
325
.61
14.2
5H
arne
yO
R3.
39L
3.55
12.1
210
.47
3.53
14.9
72.
8216
.03
22.0
821
.51
Hoo
d R
iver
OR
4.89
D3.
6611
.89
4.06
5.34
22.8
40
25.1
910
.94
15.2
5Je
ffers
onO
RD
02.
7222
.68
15.9
32.
1217
.53
022
.08
16.6
016
.26
Kla
mat
hO
R2.
18.1
04.
3214
.26
9.47
4.46
22.7
65.
2023
.34
15.8
57.
53La
keO
R2.
55.4
83.
0113
.91
13.2
02.
4216
.13
2.53
12.1
521
.41
25.4
0M
alhe
urO
R6.
05.3
63.
307.
480
4.46
23.6
53.
6018
.11
15.3
417
.64
Mor
row
OR
8.72
L2.
5315
.09
3.32
6.17
9.18
2.75
8.15
16.4
031
.02
She
rman
OR
1.93
0L
00
2.99
25.4
2L
9.76
24.7
135
.18
Um
atill
aO
R2.
86L
3.32
15.5
82.
935.
2720
.61
4.85
21.2
016
.02
10.2
8
18
Tabl
e 5—
Per
cent
age
of to
tal c
ount
y em
ploy
men
t in
each
indu
stry
, int
erio
r C
olum
bia
basi
n, 1
994
(con
tinue
d)
Agr
icul
tura
lM
anu-
Tota
lC
ount
yS
tate
serv
ices
Min
ing
Con
stru
ctio
nfa
ctur
inga
SIC
24b
Tran
spor
tatio
nTr
ade
FIR
Ec
Ser
vice
sgo
vern
men
tFa
rm
Uni
onO
R2.
12.1
44.
2713
.47
8.04
5.32
22.0
14.
2420
.45
19.4
88.
51W
allo
wa
OR
3.44
L4.
6212
.75
6.58
4.33
16.2
94.
3814
.69
19.5
020
.00
Was
coO
R2.
14.1
02.
6510
.24
1.99
3.11
24.6
14.
7426
.25
17.5
08.
66W
heel
erO
R3.
170
L3.
02.9
12.
1111
.18
2.57
10.4
222
.05
45.4
7A
dam
sW
A7.
65D
D12
.48
05.
1219
.42
3.23
13.4
015
.18
23.5
3A
sotin
WA
DD
8.49
5.10
2.18
2.47
25.5
55.
4932
.13
16.0
04.
76B
ento
nW
A1.
88.1
05.
955.
930
2.22
1.85
4.53
42.2
913
.81
21.4
4C
hela
nW
A6.
92.4
55.
726.
33.4
72.
8123
.73
6.24
21.0
613
.61
13.1
3C
olum
bia
WA
2.94
D1.
9422
.06
0 D
12.5
22.
4016
.32
24.6
417
.18
Dou
glas
WA
6.17
L4.
261.
420
4.81
19.6
64.
1916
.96
16.3
926
.16
Fer
ryW
AD
9.48
3.91
11.5
07.
49 D
14.4
72.
9316
.46
27.3
413
.92
Fran
klin
WA
6.08
.06
5.19
5.29
.13
5.76
21.4
23.
4520
.90
16.0
915
.75
Gar
field
WA
1.79
01.
11.9
40
1.37
20.0
54.
618.
7936
.77
24.5
7G
rant
WA
5.28
D4.
0411
.74
03.
9420
.09
D17
.43
16.8
420
.63
Kitt
itas
WA
1.82
.11
3.43
5.67
.96
4.41
25.5
23.
9620
.57
26.0
68.
45K
licki
tat
WA
0.3
04.
2316
.96
7.53
6.82
11.2
73.
1617
.23
21.1
518
.88
Linc
oln
WA
2.13
L3.
852.
080
2.13
20.5
65.
9714
.26
26.8
922
.13
Oka
noga
nW
A5.
46.3
03.
496.
144.
601.
8621
.15
3.84
18.7
417
.47
21.5
6P
end
Ore
ille
WA
3.01
.73
6.62
14.8
34.
142.
9616
.95
4.47
17.0
926
.72
6.62
Ska
man
iaW
A1.
60D
4.98
10.9
16.
543.
4210
.72
D27
.02
34.4
76.
88S
poka
neW
A.8
3.1
66.
139.
96.6
94.
5023
.68
7.93
30.3
415
.42
1.05
Ste
vens
WA
2.03
.74
4.27
19.3
38.
443.
5416
.19
3.58
24.4
317
.61
8.28
Wal
la W
alla
WA
1.74
.07
3.54
15.5
90
2.65
19.4
74.
1626
.90
17.9
07.
98W
hitm
anW
A1.
36L
2.43
1.49
1.11
2.40
18.6
44.
3518
.68
43.1
07.
55Ya
kim
aW
A4.
85.0
44.
9911
.85
2.00
3.71
9.64
4.92
27.2
614
.78
17.9
6Te
ton
WY
.79
09.
523.
17N
A2.
3823
.81
7.14
41.2
710
.32
1.59
Bol
d =
em
ploy
men
t sec
tors
with
mor
e th
an 1
0 pe
rcen
t of a
cou
nty’
s to
tal e
mpl
oym
ent;
D =
dat
a no
t rep
orte
d du
e to
dis
clos
ure
polic
y; L
= le
ss th
an 1
0 jo
bs.
a Tot
al m
anuf
actu
ring
incl
udes
Sta
ndar
d In
dust
rial
Cla
ssifi
catio
n 24
.b
SIC
24
for
woo
d pr
oduc
ts s
ecto
r.c F
inan
cial
, ins
uran
ce, a
nd r
eal e
stat
e in
dust
ries
.
Sou
rce:
U.S
. Dep
artm
ent o
f Com
mer
ce, B
urea
u of
Eco
nom
ic A
naly
sis
1996
.
19
Although economic base analysis can be useful as a first approximation for charac-terizing a region’s economy, it is subject to limitations in describing the overall levelof economic welfare and in predicting future economic conditions. Because theseshortcomings have been dealt with extensively elsewhere in the literature, we provideonly a brief summary drawn mainly from the more detailed treatments of Niemi andWhitelaw (1997), Power (1996), Rasker (1995), and Krikelas (1992).
Among the drawbacks of using an economic base model to describe the current levelof economic welfare in an area are the following:
1. A simple measure, such as the number of jobs or amount of labor income, revealslittle about the quality of jobs in the various industries. In other words, even thoughone sector may have more employment or higher wages than another sector, it mayhave higher safety risks, less chance for advancement, and embody fewer job skillseasily transferable to other sectors.
2. Economic base models tend to focus on the industries that export physical goodsand leave out those that export services or attract people who then consume localservices. A classic example of this second type of industry is recreation and tourism.
3. The role of nonbasic industries in stopping leaks from an economy through importsubstitution is not adequately addressed.
4. The importance of nonlabor income to an area is not captured. Rasker (1995)found that nonlabor income accounted for 34 percent of personal income in theproject area in 1993.
5. Implicit in the economic base model is the assumption that people follow jobs; inother words, people locate in an area because of the job opportunities available inthat area. An alternative assumption is that jobs follow people. This is the assumptionbehind the quality of life model, which holds that people locate in high-amenity areasbased on quality of life considerations and that industries follow, believing that workerswill accept lower wages in order to remain in these high-amenity areas.5 This secondthesis regarding the genesis of employment opportunities is not addressed in eco-nomic base models.
6. The externalities (costs not borne by the producers or consumers of a goodor service) associated with various industries are not captured; for example, if anindustry generates a large amount of pollution, the economic benefits of increasingemployment in this industry may be outweighed by increased degradation of theenvironment or the increased costs of maintaining a given quality of the environment.
Limatations ofEconomic BaseModels
5 Niemi and Whitelaw (1997) use the phrase “the secondpaycheck” to represent “the value to residents of thevarious amenities contributing to the quality of life in thearea, including access to social, cultural, and environmentalamenities, access they would not enjoy if they lived elsewhere”(p. 31).
20
Because the economic base is essentially a static portrayal of current conditions,while economies are inherently dynamic, base models fall short for planning purposesor for predicting the future economic structure of a region in the following respects:
1. Base models do not reveal the relative volatility of industries; for example, someindustries may be sensitive to external forces such as macroeconomic cycles, inter-est rates, world prices, and even weather conditions. In contrast, other industriesmay be insulated from these influences.
2. A single snapshot of the basic sectors in an area does not incorporate the dynam-ics of these sectors in the larger context. A county having a large amount of its baseemployment in an industry that is waning, may want to undertake a very differentdevelopment strategy than a county with most of its base employment in an expandingindustry.
3. General trends, such as labor-saving technological change, increasing importanceof education in determining wages and income, and changing demographics, may in-fluence the number and types of jobs created (lost) in the future when a particularindustry expands (contracts). Because such trends are not reflected in economicbase models, predictions based on these models may be skewed.
Conclusions Different definitions of economic base are useful to the extent that they lead to dif-ferent implications about the propensity for change. In this case, little differencewas observed in the general findings from the assumption and location quotientapproaches. An argument can be made that for examining potential growth in anarea, the location quotient approach is preferable because it focuses on sectorswhere specialization has already taken place, presumably due to the comparativeadvantages inherent in those sectors.
The emphasis here has been to illustrate different notions of economic base byusing county data, but the issue remains of what constitutes an economy and howwell these measures describe economic conditions. In the economic assessment,we adopted the BEA definition of functional economies. This choice was frequentlyquestioned, but no reasonable alternative was found that resolved all the variousissues.
Acknowledgments Thanks go to Judy Mikowski for help in preparing the tables.
21
Literature Cited Beuter, J.H. 1995. Legacy and promise: Oregon’s forests and wood products industry.[Place of publication unknown]: [Publisher unknown]; report for the Oregon BusinessCouncil and the Oregon Forest Institute. 56 p.
Haynes, R.W.; Horne, A.L. 1997. Chapter 6: Economic assessment of the basin. In:Quigley, T.M.; Arbelbide, S.J., tech. eds. An assessment of ecosystem componentsin the interior Columbia basin and portions of the Klamath and Great Basins. Gen.Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-405. Portland, OR: U.S. Departmant of Agriculture, ForestService, Pacific Northwest Research Station: 1715-1869. Vol. 4.
Horne. A.L.; Haynes, R.W. [In press]. Developing measures of socioeconomicresiliency in the interior Columbia basin. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-453. Portland,OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest ResearchStation. 41 p.
Johnson, K.P. 1995. Redefinition of the BEA economic areas. Survey of CurrentBusiness. 75 (Feb.): 75-81.
Krikelas, A.C. 1992. Why regions grow: a review of research on the economic basemodel. Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. July/August: 16-29.
Lipsey, R.G.; Steiner, P.O.; Purvis, D.D. 1984. Economics. 7th ed. New York: Harper& Row. 981 p.
Niemi, E.; Whitelaw, E. 1997. Assessing economic tradeoffs in forest management.Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-403. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture,Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 78 p.
Power, T.M. 1996. Lost landscapes and failed economies: the search for value ofplace. Washington, DC: Island Press. 304 p.
Rasker, R. 1995. A new home on the range: economic realities in the interior Columbiabasin. Washington, DC: The Wilderness Society. 59 p.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service; U.S. Department of the Interior,Bureau of Land Management. 1997a. Eastside draft environmental impact state-ment. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management.1323 p. 2 vol.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service; U.S. Department of the Interior,Bureau of Land Management. 1997b. Upper Columbia River basin draft environ-mental impact statement. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau ofLand Management. 1261 p. 2 vol.
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. 1996. Regionaleconomic information system, 1969-1994 CD-ROM disk. Washington, DC. [Machinereadable data files and technical documentation files prepared by the RegionalEconomic Measurement Division (BE-55), Bureau of Economic Analysis,Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce].
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