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Article: No mud on their boots: Iowa. (diversified economy of Des Moines, Iowa) (American Survey)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- February 27, 1993
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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VISITORS to Des Moines next week, attending an international forum on "the industrialisation of agriculture", will be handed a fancy business card by local officials, announcing that their city has trade offices "in Moscow, Russia, and Naucalpan, Mexico". It is also, officials hasten to add, the world's third-largest insurance centre. Heady claims for a city with a population of under 400,000; but they make a point. Outsiders tend to view Des Moines as part of the boom-bust-boom farmbelt economy. Insiders point out that there is much more to its growing prosperity than a brisk market in hogs and corn.
There is no doubting the prosperity. Many businessmen in Des Moines ...