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Using aggregate data from several Idaho counties and towns, the study examined the economic forces which pressure small town people and merchants--pressures which ultimately shape and will shape small towns in areas like Idaho. Six towns chosen for intensive study were Priest River, Cottonwood, Riggins, Shoshone, Oakley, and Malad. Focusing on small towns and their businesses, the study examined the: regional economic theory (location and regional economics) by providing a spatial model of small towns; relationship between the range of goods and services and the town size; and relation between community size, migration, and the expenditure patterns of local governments by using cross-section county data. It was found that: costs of providing public services was related to population changes, and local access to commercial goods and services was also closely related to population. The evidence on public services seemed to support the contention that small communities suffer from significant diseconomies of small scale and that outmigration imposes an additional burden of increased cost on those people who remain. Transportation improvements have allowed residents of a small town-based community to have better access to the goods and services of nearby larger towns. The elimination of jobs in the countryside has reduced the role of some small towns in line with the reduced population to be served. (NQ)