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Effect of Water Resource Investment on Economic Growth
Author(s) -
Cox P. Thomas,
Grover C. Wilford,
Siskin Bernard
Publication year - 1971
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/wr007i001p00032
Subject(s) - index (typography) , resource (disambiguation) , geography , variables , investment (military) , regression analysis , variable (mathematics) , statistics , mathematics , political science , computer network , politics , computer science , law , mathematical analysis , world wide web
Counties in the northeastern United States in which large water resource development projects constructed between 1948 and 1958 were examined to determine whether the projects stimulated economic growth. A growth index was developed for use as a dependent variable, which was then tested for its relationship with several independent variables by regression and discriminant analyses. Selected nonproject counties were examined to check further the relationship between the independent variables and growth index. Counties with high growth indices and development projects were found to be near urban areas, whereas counties with low growth indices and no projects were in rural areas. A subsample of rural project and nonproject counties was examined; it showed no significant relationship to the growth index. From these findings we infer that water resource development projects are likely to be poor tools for accelerating economic growth of rural counties in the northeastern United States.