Beschreibung:
<jats:p><jats:bold>Abstract</jats:bold> The impact of changing levels of employment in service and manufacturing sectors on community income levels is the subject of this analysis. Ordinary least squares (OLS) and robust regression procedures are used. Aggregate‐level income and employment data for 642 communities in the Mid‐Atlantic states are extracted from the U.S. Census and Dun and Bradstreet files, respectively, for the 1970–1980 period. Given outliers in the data, robust regression provides a more accurate description than OLS of trends among the majority of communities. Growth in low‐wage and high‐wage service sectors leads to greater gains in aggregate income among more remotely located places. However among centrally located places, job growth in low‐wage services is associated with declines in community income. OLS overestimates the positive impact of manufacturing and the negative effect of service sector growth on community income levels. Implications for differing strategies of economic development are discussed.</jats:p>