THE NORTHWEST’S
NEW
ECONOMY
When the Pacific Northwest’s timber and
aerospace industries started declining, some people predicted the
region would become the next Appalachia. Instead, the region is
thriving, says University of Montana economist Tom Power, whose
conclusion is endorsed by 34 other Northwest economists. Growth in
earnings, employment and population in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and
Washington has surpassed the rest of the nation for the past
decade. As tens of thousands of aerospace, agriculture, timber,
mining and fishing jobs have disappeared, high-tech design and
manufacturing industries and a variety of service jobs have emerged
to create a more diversified economy. Decline in natural resource
industries, Power adds, has come from fluctuating international
markets and technological developments that have raised
productivity and reduced the need for workers. But his report,
Economic Well-Being and Environmental Protection in the Pacific
Northwest, warns that growth will continue only if the region’s
quality of life remains high.
Copies of the free
19-page report are available from Tom Power, Dept. of Economics,
University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812
(406/243-2925).
* Dustin
Solberg
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline The Northwest’s new economy.
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