Regional Labor Pool Formation and Occupational Structure in U.S. Defense-Oriented Industries

自第二次世界大战结束以来，美国的工业经营地点发生了巨大的变化。地理学家、经济学家和其他学者最近的研究发现，新的工业增长很大一部分是由与美国军队签订合同的私营公司创造的。这些劳动密集型企业往往位于东北部、东南部、中南部和西部的某些州。尽管已经为其他行业开发了解释生产和就业区位模式的理论，但还没有在全国范围内对国防相关产业的区位假设进行严格的检验。因此，对于与国防相关的工业运营、劳动力池和其他因素的长期关系，人们相对知之甚少。这个项目将测试一组关于国防相关工业就业的时间和地理模式的假设，以确定国防工业工人遵循工作的程度，而不是相反。将分析来自劳工统计局、商务部、国防部和其他来源的数据，以探索(1)国防相关就业的规模和职业构成，(2)职业取向向国防的变化，(3)不同行业的职业分布，(4)国防相关行业和职业的工人迁移，(5)不同职业阶层的区位格局变化；(6)国防职工的社会经济构成和收入状况。除了确定工人迁移到国防相关工业就业净增长地区的方式外，该项目还将确定当国防相关工业就业下降时工人如何应对。该项目将对理论知识和经验知识做出重要贡献。通过严格检验国防相关工业生产和就业与工人的职业构成、流动性和社会经济特征之间的一套完整的区位假设，该项目将提供一个基础，以与已经进行了广泛分析的其他行业进行比较。因此，现代工业和劳动力区位的一般理论将得到加强。这项研究的结论也将对特别关注与国防相关的工业活动对此类工业所在地区的人口和劳动力的影响感兴趣的人产生相当大的兴趣。通过更好地了解工人对工业活动的反应过程，政策制定者将更全面地了解在这一关键工业部门增加或减少产量的决定的后果。

The location of industrial operations in the United States has changed dramatically since the end of World War II. Recent studies by geographers, economists, and other scholars have found that a large share of new industrial growth is generated by private firms that contract with U.S. military services. These labor-intensive firms have tended to locate in certain northeastern, southeastern, south central, and western states. Although theories have been developed for other industries to explain the locational patterns of production and employment, rigorous testing of locational hypotheses regarding defense-related industries has not been done on a national scale. As a result, relatively little is specifically known regarding the long-term relationship of defense-related industrial operations, labor pools, and other factors. This project will test a set of hypotheses about the temporal and geographical patterns of defense-related industrial employment in order to determine the degree to which defense-industry workers follow jobs rather than vice versa. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, and other sources will be analyzed to explore (1) the magnitude and occupational composition of defense-related employment, (2) changes in occupational orientation to defense, (3) regional patterns of occupation by different industries, (4) migration of workers in defense-related industries and occupations, (5) changes in the locational patterns of different occupational classes, and (6) the socio-economic composition and earnings of defense-related workers. In addition to determining the ways in which workers have migrated to regions of net increase in defense-related industrial employment, this project will identify how workers respond when defense-related industrial employment declines. This project will make important contributions to both theoretical and empirical knowledge. By rigorously testing an integrated set of locational hypotheses relating defense-related industrial production and employment to the occupational composition, mobility, and socio- economic characteristics of workers, this project will provide a basis for comparison with other industries that already have undergone extensive analyses. General theories of modern industrial and labor force location therefore will be enhanced. The conclusions of this research will also be of considerable interest to persons specifically interested in the impacts of defense-related industrial activity on the populations and labor forces of areas where such industries are located. By better understanding the processes of worker response to industrial activity, policy makers will have more complete knowledge of the ramifications of decisions to increase or reduce production in this critical industrial sector.