Shifts in the Geographical and Industrial Pattern of Economic Activity

The second World War brought unprecedented controls over the American economy. At the same time, and to a considerable extent as an incident to these controls, the economy of the country has been subject to unusually searching observation and measurement. Some of our most useful types of information, such as the data provided by the Census of Manufactures, have not been available. Nevertheless, the files of governmental agencies contain much detailed information on what has been happening during the last few years, and the research arms of these agencies have made many studies of the effects of war on the economy. Although the bulk of this material is not available to the public, a number of valuable and interesting studies have been published, either by the government or by economists who have been working in the government service, and who are therefore familiar with the studies that have been made and with the data that have been collected. What is to be said here is necessarily based on the information that has thus been published.