Abstract
The numbers of manufacturing plant births and deaths are both very highly correlated with the total number of manufacturing plants per county. For the period from 1978 to 1987 there have not been dramatic absolute changes in the spatial distribution of manufacturing within Ohio. Spatial variations in opening and closing rates are less easily explained. About half to three quarters of the variations in rates are statistically explained by different collections of variables and counties. Three submodels attempt to determine whether these variations in rates are mainly functions of the economic and social attributes of counties, of general levels of economic activity, or are consequences of the inherited industries and plants. The structural model is generally more powerful than either the socioeconomic or vitality configurations. Relative change in manufacturing is best predicted by the industrial profile of an area, for example, the sizes and ages of plants and diversity of industrial types, and its classification as a central, suburban, or rural county.
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