Migration Centers, Growth Centers and the Regional Commissions: An Analysis of Expected Future Lifetime Income Gains to Migrants from Lagging Regions

Abstract

During the past decade an unprecedented effort has been made by the federal government to promote the development of economically lagging areas of the nation. The Area Redevelopment Act of 1961 and the Accelerated Public Works Act of 1962 provided for investments in declining communities; however, insufficient funds, inadequate planning and lack of attention to human resource development limited their impact [6]. In 1965 the Appalachian Regional Development Act and the Public Works and Economic Development Act were passed to deal more efficiently and comprehensively with the problems of regions characterized by high unemployment and low income. The former created the Appalachian Regional Commission and the latter created the Economic Development Administration and provided for the creation of regional commissions corresponding to that for Appalachia. To date such bodies, usually termed Title V Commissions, have been established for the Ozarks, the Four Corners, the Atlantic Coastal Plains, the Upper Great Lakes and New England. Except for New England all of the commissions deal with areas which have been defined primarily in terms of economic distress, i.e. regional boundaries delineate lagging areas within which growth is to be encouraged by the commissions. The New England Regional