The progressive reduction of such barriers has been a leading factor behind the postwar economic growth in the West.

Rising health care costs are also a leading factor in the number of individuals who do not have insurance.

The slow pace of cost reduction is considered a leading factor in the board's decision to shuffle top management.

That financial drain was a leading factor in the hospitals' decline, some health experts say.

Nevertheless, the unit quickly became a very important resource and a leading factor in base defense operations.

The leading factor for the immigration of Syrians has been to find better jobs.

Job worries remain a leading factor in depressed consumer confidence.

The leading factor behind such feelings is a person's level of vitality and energy.

The report was one of the leading factors that led to the 1926 General Strike.

In an environment of rapidly rising drug prices, they said, states' cost-control efforts were the leading factor.