Industrial Growth in the Tennessee Valley Region, 1959 to 1968

Shift analysis and the technique of entropy indicate an increase in the strength of rural and small-town counties competing with urban areas for manufacturing employment during the study period. Increase in the strength of the most rural counties apparently was confined to labor-oriented industries, but small towns and small cities were successful in attracting in-dustries of varying orientations. Despite the rapid rate of industrialization, rural counties experienced slow or negative population growth; this is attributed to the absence of sizeable employment multiplier effects and to offsetting employment declines in extractive industries. The implication is that considerable potential exists for further rural industrialization. Key words: rural dispersal; manufacturing; entropy; employment multiplier; labor-intensive. T H E EXTENT to which rural areas in theUnited States are becoming more attrac-tive as locations for manufacturing indus-try is a subject of considerable current interest. As traditional employment opportunities in agri-culture and the extractive industries have de-clined sharply, rural areas have experienced heavy outmigration and population losses. Bu