Swenson, David A.

January 2005

Community development officials, highly mindful of the composition of their local economies, work hard to attract new investment in their communities. Many dedicate significant resources to help revitalize or expand their economies. While they often target their efforts toward manufacturing and service industries to expand local employment, communities are also very interested in maintaining their retail trade sectors.

A new mall has been proposed for the Ames area, and there are questions about the potential economic impact of new trade capacity in the area. This report describes how retail trade produces economic impacts for a community.

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