Pennsylvania State Facts

Which idea about Pennsylvania’s regional economy is most accurate?

• Pennsylvania’s modern economy depends almost entirely on coal and steel.
• The spatial mismatch between growing knowledge sectors and declining legacy industries helps explain uneven regional outcomes within Pennsylvania.
• Manufacturing disappeared from Pennsylvania after heavy industry declined.
• Service industries have little role in Pennsylvania’s current economy.

What should a student understand about Pennsylvania’s regional economy?

• Pennsylvania’s central location in the Northeast gives it access to large consumer markets while Appalachian topography imposes transport constraints in some areas.
• Pennsylvania’s modern economy depends almost entirely on coal and steel.
• Employment and GDP measure exactly the same economic activity.
• State GDP alone shows how economic gains are distributed to every household.