Provides 1998 stat's. on merchandise export sales by businesses located in 253 of the nation's Metro. Statistical Areas (MSAs). Metro areas covered in this study collectively account for nearly 80% of all U.S. exports of goods. This study provides an overview of export activity in the nation's cities. Tables furnish export totals for each metro area and ranks the MSAs according to various criteria -- e.g., by export value and recent export growth. The metro area statistics in this report show the extent to which local businesses have marketed products abroad, and they provide an indication of the degree to which local companies depend on export markets.

Provides, for the first time, comprehensive U.S. statistics on the merchandise export sales of many of the nation's metro areas. Figures are provided here on the total goods exports of 256 U.S. metro statistical areas that were collectively responsible for about 80% of all U.S. merchandise exports or about $415 billion. 77 metro areas posted export sales of over 1 billion. Also furnishes, for the 10 largest metro area exporters, extensive detail on the product composition of manufactured exports as well as export sales to selected major markets. The Detroit area was the nation's top exporting metropolis in 1994.

The literature on rural America, to the extent that it exists, has largely been written by urban-based scholars perpetuating out-of-date notions and stereotypes or by those who see little difference between rural and agricultural concerns. As a result, the real rural America remains much misunderstood, neglected, or ignored by scholars and policymakers alike. In response, Emery Castle offers The Changing American Countryside, a volume that will forever change how we look at this important subject. Castle brings together the writings of eminent scholars from several disciplines and varying backgrounds to take a fresh and comprehensive look at the "forgotten hinterlands." These authors examine the role of non-metropolitan people and places in the economic life of our nation and cover such diverse issues as poverty, industry, the environment, education, family, social problems, ethnicity, race, religion, gender, government, public policy, and regional diversity The authors are especially effective in demonstrating why rural America is so much more than just agriculture. It is in fact highly diverse, complex, and interdependent with urban America and the international market place. Most major rural problems, they contend, simply cannot be effectively addressed in isolation from their urban and international connections. To do so is misguided and even hazardous, when one-fourth of our population and ninety-seven per cent of our land area is rural. Together these writings not only provide a new and more realistic view of rural life and public policy, but also suggest how the field of rural studies can greatly enrich our understanding of national life.