Era of Dying Places

Tuesday evening ramblings posted at Pacific Standard magazine.

Theme: How demographic changes are restructuring the global economy with new winners and losers.

Subject Article: "Revenge of the Rust Belt."

Other Links: 1. "Illinois Labor History."
2. "Rust Belt Metro Educational Attainment."
3. "Local Area Unemployment Statistics for Pittsburgh MSA."
4. "Local Area Unemployment Statistics for Phoenix MSA."
5. "More Ascendant Pittsburgh."
6. "Pittsburgh’s “Brain Gain:” A Model for San Antonio?"

Postscript: I wish I had this post up prior to publishing "Portland is Dying." Demographic decline isn't the curse of a few losers. It defines the current post-recession economy. Migration boomtowns such as Phoenix and Portland may be out of luck. People are less mobile. Migrants are returning to Mexico. Robust population growth is increasingly rare. Pittsburgh has dealt with this reality for a few decades, fueling a quiet boom hiding under the pejorative of "shrinking city." I contend that a new economic paradigm was born in Southwestern Pennsylvania.