ABSTRACT
During the 1970s and early 1980s, the American South became the new economic model of regional development for industrial economies. The region's economy is also dominated by externally-owned branch plants. This chapter begins by examining the bedrock of the South's economic base: low-wage industries. To circumscribe the analysis and provide the context in which economic restructuring takes place, the chapter focuses on a set of key sectors critical to the shape of the fortunes of this region. The chapter discusses the implications of both the industrial legacy of the region and its recent boom from the viewpoint of state government policies aimed at coping with the restructuring of the region's economy. It examines resource development and its impact on the South. The international economy has affected the growth of employment in the South as well as in other regions. High-technology industries have had remarkably little effect on the changing economic fortunes of the region.
