Title: How do energy prices, and labor and environmental regulations affect local manufacturing employment dynamics?
Description: "Manufacturing industries differ with respect to their energy intensity, labor-to-capital ratio and their pollution intensity.  Across the United States, there is significant variation in electricity prices and labor and environmental regulation.  This paper uses a regression discontinuity approach to examine whether the basic logic of comparative advantage can explain the geographical clustering of U.S.  manufacturing.  Using a unified empirical framework, we document that energy-intensive industries concentrate in low electricity price counties, labor-intensive industries avoid pro-union counties, and pollution-intensive industries locate in counties featuring relatively lax Clean Air Act regulation.  We use our estimates to predict the likely jobs impacts of regional carbon mitigation efforts"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.