2 - National Forces Affecting the Spatial Distribution of Population and Economic Activity in the Post-World-War-II Era

Abstract

This chapter describes certain economic and demographic forces operating at the national level that have particularly important spatial implications. It focuses on the period from roughly 1965 to 1975 relative to the earlier post-World-War-II years. During the post-World-War-II period, a number of important national forces contributed to the changing spatial distribution of population and of economic activity. The years from approximately 1965 to and beyond 1975 stand distinctly apart from the earlier postwar years as a period during which conditions were such as to encourage disproportionately much spatial redistribution. The chapter highlights the factors that have had their direct or primary impacts on the distribution of population. During the period between 1947 and 1963, the national rate of employment growth appears to have been dominated by the cyclical behavior of the economy. During the period between 1963 and 1975, the influence of cycles on the rate of employment growth is evident; however, until 1974–1975, this influence does not seem dominant. One important cause of the observed differences between the two periods is the high rate of labor force entry as approximately 1963 caused by the aging of the war baby cohort. A second important cause is the coincident rise in labor force participation rates of women.