A Yes! Weekly story about how military bases affect state economies quotes UGA history professor James C. Cobb, who said the concentration of bases in the South has spurred a demand for goods and services to support those bases, but contracts for weapons development and other activities that would stimulate capital investment and create high-paying jobs have typically gone elsewhere.
“It’s likely to follow the pattern of states outside of the South getting the most lucrative contracts,” he said. “Most of the systems are pretty specialized and tend to be something coming off the research board. That’s going to benefit states with a research and development infrastructure.”
