Business Conditions in Michigan Metropolitan Areas

The study culminating in this report analyzed business conditions in eleven Michigan metropolitan areas during a ten-year period from the late 60s to the late 70s. Focus is on the need for an overview of the effects of cyclical swings, but it does not try to identify the causes of variation in performance. Short-run business conditions are analyzed by measuring the behavior of a set of economic indicators covering three major categories: labor market, construction, and banking activity. Part 1 of this two-part study discusses data and methods used to measure local business activity and presents a comparative analysis of behavior in the eleven metropolitan areas. Part 2 presents detailed descriptions of what happened in each area. The eleven sections include brief introductory discussions of the area economic structures and a detailed look at local business conditions, with some data presented via charts. The introduction gives an overview of the national setting at the time of the study. (CP)