Detecting the Economic Base: New Challenges

Abstract

A growing and significant share of the economic base of many communities is comprised of output consumed within the region by nonresidents or by residents who expend externally derived funds. That output poses problems for analysts attempting to identify basic activity. This conceptual article assesses the discriminating powers of the bifurcation techniques employed in economic base studies. It is intended to make users and builders of macro regional models more aware of the problem.