Will the Tenth District catch the Asian flu?

While the impacts of the Asian financial turmoil on the United States have been widely discussed and studied, few analysts have looked at the likely impact on the Tenth District Economy. Gazel and Lamb examine the negative impacts of the Asian financial turmoil on the Tenth District and find that while the overall impact on the district economy is likely to be moderate, some segments of the economy could be hurt significantly. Two important sectors of the Tenth District economy likely to be affected by the Asian economic crisis are manufacturing and agriculture.> District manufacturing activity is concentrated in several industries that could be negatively affected by the Asian crisis, especially electronics and food processing. Moreover, manufacturing activity has risen sharply in Tenth District states in recent years and manufacturing employment now accounts for almost 13 percent of total employment, making declines in manufacturing activity potentially serious for the district.> Another important sector in the Tenth District economy is agriculture, which accounts for a large share of economic activity in some district states. Moreover, agriculture is heavily dependent on exports to support demand for its products. Within agriculture, some specific commodities such as wheat, soybeans, and red meat are likely to be negatively affected by the Asian crisis.