This paper assesses the severity of the problem of declining industrial regions in the U.S. and Europe during 1970-1990. Conceptual issues in defining such regions are discussed, as are difficulties in comparing U.S. and European data. The proportion of the population living in declining industrial regions in selected years ranged from 11 to 25 percent for the U.S., and from 17 to 28 percent for Europe as a whole, with a wider range for individual European countries. In the U.S., declining industrial regions showed relatively low persistence over time; only 2 states and 15 metropolitan areas are identified as such regions in all four years for which U.S. data are presented.
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