This paper examines the distribution of dentists among U.S. counties along the rural-urban continuum. Dentist workforce availability has implications for oral health care access and utilization, which in turn can affect the quality of life, health, and productivity of rural residents. In addition, dentists form part of the non-tradable services sector, and its erosion may affect the vitality of...

A statistical procedure for detecting “contagious” location patterns for manufacturing establishments is presented. Manufacturing industries’ establishment clustering tendencies are ranked based on the “dispersion parameter” of the negative binomial distribution. Establishment data are for three-digit SIC manufacturing industries, nonmetro counties of BEA Component Economic Areas, 1981 and 1992...

Key Findings. (1) Hospital network participation from 2007 to 2012 increased in larger hospitals (more than 150 beds), non-government not-for-profit hospitals, and metropolitan hospitals. Network participation changed inconsistently in other types of hospitals. (2) Hospital system affiliation has generally increased in hospitals of all sizes, non-government not-for-profit hospitals, hospitals i...