The focal point of the quality of life associated with the United States is a strong economy. Growth in the economy means growth in employment. The establishment of stringent environmental legislation is now a reality. However, those responsible for enacting environmental laws, as well intentioned as they may be, must strive to assess the socio-economic consequences of their actions so that the true net benefit of the environmental legislation is established. The main effort in this research centers around the analysis of how a particular resource, energy (i.e., energy in the form of electric power derived from strip-mined coal) is embedded in the economic growth of the Southwest. The basic econometric tool that has been utilized is a regional input-output model which evolved from a California-Arizona linked input-output model developed by H. O. Carter and D. Ireri. The decision space developed, which effectively acted as a mechanism for restricting coal-fired power availability in future years, was based on a schedule of electric energy capacity additions as delineated by the U.S. Department of Interior's Southwest Energy Study. The regional economic analysis, described in Chapter 5 of this dissertation, suggests there is a definite relationship between coal-fired power availability and regional economic growth in the Southwest. Furthermore, the estimates of incremental decreases in regional economic activity associated with certain levels of decreased coal-fired power development are of such a magnitude that one could characterize the relationship as very significant.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/191008 |
| Date | January 1974 |
| Creators | Everett, Wayne Leonari,1945- |
| Contributors | Roefs, T. G., Gum, Russell L., Ince, Simon, Harshbarger, John W. |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic), text |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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