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Rural America, Vol. 17, Issue 4
By Douglas Bowers, Editor
ERS
Rural America No. 174.
January 2003
About this magazine
This issue discusses a number of topics concerning rural America, including rural population loss and migration, recreation counties and their rapid growth, U.S.-China trade, federal funding in rural America, rural land ownership, rural infrastructure, and rural employment growth. Updates on rural conditions and trends include data on migration, rural poverty, and jobs and earnings.
In this report ...
Articles are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.
Contents, 685 kb
Frontmatter, 48 kb
Feature Articles
- Understanding Rural Population Loss
(1,109 kb)—Despite a widespread decline in rural poverty in the 1990s, a quarter of nonmetro counties lost population over the decade. Poverty rates were no higher in these counties than in counties without population loss. We identify remote (from metro areas), thinly settled counties as "frontier" counties, arguing that the lack of access to services and the small labor market sizes in these counties inhibits the inmigration of people and businesses, particularly in the absence of compensating natural amenities. In two of every three low-amenity frontier counties, population loss exceeded 5 percent in 1990-2000. For more information, contact
David A. McGranahan and Calvin L. Beale.
- Nonmetro Recreation Counties:Their Identification and
Rapid Growth (439 kb)—For rural communities struggling to offset job losses from farming, mining, and manufacturing, capitalizing on the recreational appeal of an area fosters economic development, attracts new
residents, and retains existing population. This article outlines a method to identify nonmetro counties with high recreation development. For more information, contact Calvin L. Beale and Kenneth M. Johnson.
- Federal Funding in the Delta (334 kb)—Despite recent improvements, the Lower Mississippi Delta region—especially the rural Delta—faces many economic challenges. The Federal Government has spent large amounts of money on the region for basic income support. For more information, contact Richard J. Reeder and Samuel Calhoun.
- Federal Funding in Appalachia and Its Three Subregions (320 kb)—Appalachia received more per capita Federal funds than the U.S. average, but this was only true for urban areas, where income support and payments for national functions were larger. For more information, contact Faqir Singh Bagi, Richard J. Reeder, and Samuel D. Calhoun.
- Can Rural Employment Benefit From Changing Labor Skills in U.S. Processed Food Trade? (142 kb)—In 1972, processed food exports used more skilled labor per unit of output than processed food imports. By 1992, this situation had reversed and the skill intensity of processed food trade had switched. Higher meat and poultry exports compared with other processed food trade could explain this switch in skill intensity. The growth in meat trade paralleled an urban-to-rural shift in the meatpacking and poultry processing sectors. For more information, contact Gerald Schluter and Chinkook Lee.
- Economic Impact of Water/Sewer Facilities on Rural and Urban Communities (92 kb)—Rural water/sewer facilities generate private investment and public funds, and increase the property tax base. But the average urban water/sewer facility, which costs only about one-third more than the average rural facility, creates about twice the amount of permanent jobs, induces three times more private investment, leverages twice as much in public funds, and adds three times more to the local property tax base. For more information, contact Faqir Singh Bagi.
- Resource Conservation and Development Program
Reaches a Milestone (86 kb)—The Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D;) program has grown both in number of areas covered and in funding since its inception in 1964. In 2002, RC&D; received permanent authorization. The RC&D; program's success springs from the individual initiative granted to and shown by local RC&D; volunteer councils, whose decisions for their communities have upheld economic advancement and the conservation of natural resources. For more information, contact Dwight M. Gadsby.
- Who Owns the Land?: Agricultural Land Ownership
by Race/Ethnicity (176 kb)—Of all private U.S. agricultural land, Whites account for 96 percent of the owners, 97 percent of the value, and 98 percent of the acres. Nonetheless, four minority groups (Blacks, American Indians, Asians, and Hispanics) own over 25 million acres of agricultural land, valued at over $44 billion, which has wide-ranging consequences for the social, economic, cultural, and political life of minority communities in rural America. For more information, contact Jess Gilbert, Spencer D. Wood, and Gwen Sharp.
- How Does Growing U.S.-China Trade Affect Rural America? (149 kb)—China's trade with the United States has boomed since the 1980s. China exports a number of products such as apparel, furniture, and plastics that compete with products manufactured in rural America. However, many of China's most important exports, like footwear and toys, are not widely produced in rural America. China's exports of products like footwear and toys benefit rural U.S. consumers by keeping prices low. China's growing economy is creating market opportunities for rural U.S. producers of oilseeds, grain, meat, machinery, and equipment. For more information, contact Fred Gale.
- Farewell Rural America (412 kb).
Rural Updates
Entire Report (5,690 kb)
Order this report (stock #ERSRA174)
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page updated: January 29, 2003
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