Post-cowboy economics : pay and prosperity in the new American west / Thomas Michael Power and Richard N. Barrett.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Power, Thomas M.

Contributor:

Barrett, Richard N.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Income--West (U.S.).

Income.

West (U.S.)--Economic policy.

West (U.S.).

Physical Description:

xx, 185 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Washington : Island Press, [2001]

Summary:

Conventional wisdom sees the economic woes afflicting the Mountain West -- declining pay, growing inequality, persistent poverty -- as a direct result of increasingly strict environmental regulations that have crippled natural resource industries such as mining and logging.

In Post-Cowboy Economics, the authors challenge that notion, offering a new interpretation of the economy of the Mountain West. Based on evidence from a wide variety of sources, including data on individual employment and income histories of more than 300,000 residents, they clearly demonstrate that the region's economic misfortunes are not the result of changes in regional industrial structure but rather are local manifestations of pervasive national and international trends.

Contents:

Chapter 1 The View from the Cowboy Economy 1

Chapter 2 Economic Deterioration amid Rapid Economic Growth? Trends in Pay and Income in the Mountain West 21

Chapter 3 The Changing Structure of the Mountain West Economies 51

Chapter 4 Converting "Good" Jobs to "Lousy" Jobs? The Effect of Changes in Industrial Structure on Wages and Well-Being 69

Chapter 5 Is the Mountain West Really Poor? Size of Place and Relative Pay and Income 103

Chapter 6 Trapped in Images from the Past 125

Chapter 7 What Should Be Done? Appropriate Public Economic Policies for the Mountain West 137.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 167-172) and index.

ISBN:

1559638206

1559638214

OCLC:

46991936