ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the use of state incentives from an historical and comparative perspective, on the significance of incentives for location decisions, and on the legal issues involved in the use of public funds for private- sector projects. It describes some of the long term consequences of the transplants. The book discusses the transplant phenomenon in the United States occurred in the context of a changing global economy and the declining strength of the US economy. It examines the importance of the three different clusters of factors for answers to the question of why the Midwest corridor was selected as the home for the transplants. The book considers the economic and political forces released by a changing global economy, and how these forces affected states and communities in the United States. It also examines the historical context for the transplant phenomenon.
