5 FUTURE RESEARCH NEEDS Future research needs can be divided into initial short-term assessments and long-term research. Short-term assessments are first needed to build an arsenal of tools and understanding that can serve as a foundation for the more refined assessments that will be needed later as evaluation of the SPS concept proceeds. Long-term research should be aimed at developing accurate predictions of the future economic and demographic relocations that may result from the siting of SPS rectennae. 5.1 SHORT-TERM Before investigators can seriously tackle the larger question of how SPS will contribute to the centralization or decentralization of society, a foundation of tools and information is needed to build upon. The shortterm assessments identified in this section are recommended as efforts that should be supported in FY 1979 as prerequisites to the more detailed studies that will be needed in FY 1980 and beyond. These assessments focus on four of the most important economic/demographic issues that have been raised in this white paper. All of these assessments relate to the fundamental question of rectenna siting and they would specifically focus on four concerns: the maximization of economic and demographic benefit, the relationship between electricity prices and industrial moves, potential socioeconomic impact, and the future locational responsiveness of industry based on the projected availability and cost of electricity. These short-term assessments can be summarized more fully as follows: • Rectenna siting assessment (two possible approaches) - Search for sites (i.e., counties) to maximize economic/demographic benefits. - Evaluate the economic/demographic viability of sites identified by others. • Assess the expected effects of marginal and average cost pricing on industrial moves to rectenna-bearing regions. This assessment would include some sensitivity analysis. • Ex ante assessment of economic/demographic impact of rectenna siting. This assessment would examine the following phases of development:
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