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Amenities are expected to impact regional economic growth by affecting growth in population, employment, income, and house values. This study assesses whether the 299 counties in the Northeast (NE) region of the US can build and pursue a growth strategy that depends on their local and neighborhood amenities (natural and built). It extends previous studies by estimating a simultaneous spatial Durbin model (SDM) using the two stages least square method. Historical and cultural amenities and water based recreational amenities are found to play a positive role in shaping the growth of population in the northeast region of the US. The role of natural amenities, land and winter based amenities is found to be negative or insignificant. One of the important findings of the study is the positive role of surrounding counties’ historical and cultural amenities in the growth of population and employment densities. Overall there is no evidence of a consistent and strong relationship between amenities and regional economic growth, and the results can be termed “mixed and inconclusive”.

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Dissertation submitted to the Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Sciences at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of