Annual/Termination Reports:

[05/25/2004] [08/22/2005] [06/19/2006] [04/23/2007] [05/28/2008]

Report Information

Participants

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Brief Summary of Minutes

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Accomplishments

Objective #1: To better understand the emerging opportunities and threats to the economic structure of nonmetropolitan communities arising from forces that change the size or structure of rural markets. We focus on electronic commerce, financial liberalization, and health care. <br /> <br /> The role of financial intermediaries in rural economic development was examined in order to determine why it may be harder for remote (rural) places to develop than it is for urban places. The argument has been made that, due to problems of asymmetric information, credit is supplied only to local borrowers. If it is, and there are fewer rural lenders, this implies that rural business access to capital will be lower, and rural interest rates will be higher. Researchers studied whether the emergence of e-finance may have been associated with a decline in brick-and-mortar offices, especially in rural areas. To begin, they investigated the simple correlation between the change in the number of bank offices and population change using decennial census population data and FDIC data on the number of bank offices per county in 1990 and 2000. It was found that, first, despite the emergence of e-finance, the number of bank offices per capita has increased over the decade from 5.7 bank offices per 10,000 people to 6.7 offices per 10,000. Second, although many rural Iowa counties lost population, all Iowa counties gained bank offices. Third, other than the lack of correlation with population decline, in general, the brick-and-mortar bank office growth is matching Iowa county population growth. In other words, banking location choice appears to continue to be strictly based on the location choices of people. The emergence of e-finance has had no negative effect on the access of rural people to banks.<br /> <br /> Researchers investigated the factors contributing to the decline of the South Carolina shrimp trawling industry and programs available to promote wild caught domestic shrimp. Personal interviews were conducted at all South Carolina shrimp docks and mail surveys were distributed to the owners of all boats registered to shrimpers in South Carolina. Research is focusing on the viability of niche marketing for South Carolina shrimpers as a means to increase prices and profits.<br /> <br /> Another study measures the effect communication and information technologies have had on agriculture and rural economies by analyzing the supply-side of the market for new technology (technology diffusion). The economy has been undergoing major structural changes during the last decade, in part due to new technology, laws, and regulations in the communications and information industry, also known as the telecommunications industry (CIT). The government has played a significant economic role in the ongoing structural changes in CIT and recent farm bills have included provisions for various CIT services including broadband delivery, telemedicine, distance learning, and telework programs. The research indicates that the telecommunication service market is functioning. Nonetheless, small communities and rural areas have less of an economic advantage than large urban communities when it comes to obtaining the full set of communication and information technology. Some argue that newer technology may yet overcome this perceived disadvantage. The current technology set, however, does not.<br /> <br /> The "brain drain" of young professionals is a major economic concern in many rural communities. A study in Pennsylvania sought to identify some of the reasons why returns to education differ across rural and urban areas and to measure these differences. A record of the proceedings containing the outcomes of a conference on bridging the digital divide was published. Researchers also worked closely with the state Hospital Association in conducting an economic impact analysis that will measure the impact of rural health care on the state economy. Further research done in conjunction with the Northeast Regional Center examined trends in migration. Results show that people moving into rural areas are coming from metro areas in and adjacent to the state. The study also measured the relative importance of amenities and job market characteristics on migration. While jobs tend to be push factors, amenities tend not to be pull factors.<br /> <br /> Another study identified factors that will enhance the ability of rural communities to compete in the global economic environment. Other research involved analyzing the influence of transportation infrastructure in connecting rural communities to larger urban markets. This study examined how various inputs including employment agglomeration in different industries affected the economic growth of Arkansas from 1986 to 1999. <br /> <br /> Research was initiated on a timely aspect of community health local fiscal crisis. Data was collected for all general-purpose local governmental units in New York counties, cities, towns and villages from the NYS Office of the Controllers annual fiscal reports. Compiled into a local government database, researchers have information on revenues, expenditures, debt, and capital outlays from 1977 to 2002 for most of these units. Indicators of fiscal condition have been constructed and preliminary analysis begun for a presentation to be made in March 2004.<br /> <br /> Research was conducted to examine the effect of changing demographics on the health care market. Due to the New Hampshire tax structure, there has been an influx of the affluent elderly. Hospitals there appear to be getting exclusive areas. Research will be conducted to study the relationship between these factors.<br /> <br /> Additional research seeks to identify and measure the effects of rural hospital investment in technology. Any investment in technology tends to have spillover effects, and research will determine how much spillover there is from hospital technology to the surrounding rural community. Upcoming research will identify the impacts of growth in e-commerce on rural areas.<br /> <br /> Research into how state and local health care policy affects the viability of rural health care markets is continuing. Two manuscripts that address core myths that have driven federal, state and local healthcare policy over the last two decades are currently being prepared. The first manuscript addresses the myth that rural regions can "grow their own" health care system and the second manuscript addresses the myth that telemedicine will solve the problems of spatial barriers to healthcare delivery in isolated rural communities. In both cases policy interventions have ignored structural issues related to rural healthcare markets. Rural health policy that does not account for the institutional market framework serves to undermine the capacity of policy interventions to meet targeted goals of improving access to, and quality of, healthcare services in rural regions. This research addresses weaknesses in policy design by more clearly articulating the institutional framework in which policy interventions alter the behavior of both consumers and providers in rural healthcare markets. Using focus group and key informant survey methods a general taxonomy of rural healthcare market institutions that support effective rural healthcare policy design is developed.<br /> <br /> One recently completed project measured the individual impact of health care on rural communities. Wisconsin researchers also teamed up with the Department of Workforce Development to bring counties together to talk about economic development. IMPLAN was used to identify targeted industries. In addition, a conference was held to discuss the effects of natural and built amenities.<br /> <br /> Another research project looks at the spillover of innovation in metropolitan areas to non-metropolitan areas. Researchers will measure what happens to activity levels in non-metropolitan areas with respect to metropolitan areas in terms of jobs, incomes, and patents.<br /> <br /> Researchers have formed partnerships with different West Virginia state agencies to study rural markets. Together with the State Venture Capital Fund, they are determining the degree to which venture capital is penetrating into rural areas. They are also cooperating with the West Virginia University Medical School to predict the effects of bringing broadband access into selected areas.<br /> <br /> The rural health care market in Mississippi has undergone some changes in recent years. People are leaving their own counties to seek health care elsewhere at an increasing rate. Researchers have partnered with local health networks to provide health information, develop new health care networks, and determine why people are choosing to travel farther from home to obtain health care.<br /> <br /> Objective #2: To determine the root causes of changes in rural labor markets, the employment and demographic growth that are likely to occur in the future, and the degree to which these factors are modified by workforce development policies.<br /> <br /> Research addressed the dynamics of persistent poverty in rural America, the impact of job growth on the rural working poor, outcomes of welfare reform in rural and urban areas, and hunger and food insecurity in Oregon. In collaboration with the RUPRI Rural Poverty Research Center, OSU researchers documented rural poverty trends and are exploring the factors that led counties out of persistent poverty status during the 1990s. Working with researchers from University of Minnesota and Northwestern University, Oregon explored the effect of job growth on poor workers and of welfare reform on single mothers in rural and urban areas. A study of Oregon low-income workers suggests that local job growth leads to higher earnings and more employment for the working poor. The findings also suggest, however, that local job growth has a weaker effect on earnings and employment of the working poor in rural areas. Results from a study using a national sample of households suggest that, holding demographics constant, changes in welfare and social policy during the 1990s contributed to the employment increases but not to poverty reduction for both rural and urban single mothers. They also suggest that differences between urban and rural single mothers in age, race, and education resulted in the policy changes having less effect on rural single mother work and poverty. Researchers are also working to determine the cause of high rates of hunger in Oregon.<br /> <br /> Mississippi is developing a health information program centered on the economic importance of health care. The first part of the process includes: (1) identification of available health care providers in the study region; (2) surveys of household and providers surveys to assess the demographic, economic, and behavioral aspects of health care; and (3) traditional economic impact analysis of the health care sector. The second part of the process involves facilitating the creation of local partnerships and networks, and helping with leadership development and long-term strategic planning to improve health in the study area. Another goal has been to explore commuting in the context of health care. This has been accomplished by development and validation of entropy-based models of county-to-county worker flows followed by development of a gravity model for health commuting. The results, presented at the 43rd Annual meeting of the Southern Regional Science Association, confirm the hypothesis that people seek health care in the county where they work. Another result is that it has motivated further investigation into the rationale behind why people commute for health care. It has also led to interest in identifying hospital and other health care provider trade areas.<br /> <br /> Data from the 1990 and 2000 Decennial Census (Journey-to-Work data), Regional Economic Information System, and Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development was merged to create a county-level database on employment, commuting and labor force in Minnesota. The data are being used to estimate a labor market model based on the model developed by the North Carolina researchers involved in this multi-state project. Estimation results suggest that local labor markets adjust to labor demand shocks through a combination of changes to in-commuting and out-commuting, labor force participation, and unemployment. Initial estimation has been completed and further model testing and sensitivity results will be conducted. In another study, analysis of administrative data on parents receiving childcare assistance revealed substantially different employment patterns in rural versus urban Minnesota. To a large extent, these variations reflect differences in rural and urban labor markets. The jobs held by parents receiving child care assistance in Minnesota are concentrated in four industries: Health care and social assistance, retail trade, accommodation and food services, and the administrative and support services sector. The jobs held by these parents are concentrated in industries that pay lower average wages (to the total workforce) and have high job vacancy rates. <br /> <br /> Research on economic and demographic changes in rural communities was extended by collecting interview and survey data from three rural North Dakota communities that had experienced economic development stemming from either manufacturing or exported services facilities as well as for two communities that had not experienced major new development projects during the 1990s. The latter communities served as a control group. Improved job opportunities and enhanced incomes were generally seen as major positive effects of each of the new economic development initiatives. Further, aside from some management and engineering positions, most of the plant jobs appeared to represent employment opportunities for area workers rather than being taken primarily by in-migrants. Residents' incomes were enhanced both by the plants' jobs and payroll (which often represented second incomes for area households) and by increased incomes for area farmers (in the case of agricultural processing facilities). Because persons already living in the area took most of the plant jobs, the new plants did not lead to substantial in-migration or major population growth in the host communities. Rather, a reoccurring comment by local leaders was that the plant in their community had stabilized the local economy and population. Comparison of population trends in the development and control communities supports the perception of local informants that the economic development initiatives served to stabilize local populations.<br /> <br /> Research continues on the role of education and labor force quality on rural economic development. Preliminary findings indicate that local school quality and local labor force quality are positively related. Local labor force quality (measured by percent of adults with some college) was positively related to county per capita income and employment growth. However, the impact of education levels on county per capita was stronger in metro than nonmetro counties. Research findings indicate that rural areas must increase the demand for college-educated workers to benefit greatly from increases in the labor force quality. Other research focused on the effects of in-migration on rural labor markets. In-migration of labor to rural areas to work in meat and poultry processing plants is often substantial. By shifting the local labor supply function to the right, in-migration may be associated with lower real wages in these industries. The dramatic decline in real wages in both rural and urban counties in meat packing and other meat processing since 1980 suggests that these jobs will not generate large increases in rural per capita incomes. However, in-migrants to rural areas should help sustain local trade and service establishments in rural counties of states that have experienced population losses over the last decade. If environmental and social concerns associated with large-scale processors can be adequately addressed, large-scale meat packing plants seem to offer an excellent opportunity for sustained employment growth - albeit in fewer and fewer rural communities.<br /> <br /> Focus group meetings were conducted with Michigan dairy farmers, greenhouse and nursery producers, and landscapers to discuss labor related risks. The focus group meetings were able to capture the diversity in both industries relative to size, technologies utilized, number of employees, and nature of the business (diversified versus specialized). There are significant differences between dairy farmers and green industry managers in how they perceive risks with respect to personnel management. Currently labor supply is not considered a major problem by the discussion participants. Due to the high level of unemployment and the influx of immigrant labor of Hispanic descent, managers have been able to hire suitable employees for the last two years. However, the long-term viability of this labor supply is risk prone with respect to immigration provisions and legal eligibility of individuals for employment in the U.S. Based upon the findings in the focus group discussions an interview guide for in depth assessment of risks and strategies to mediate risk was developed. <br /> <br /> The effect of the tourism industry on local economies is the focus of another study. Few tourism analysts and recreation managers have formal training in regional economic methods and most are not familiar with input-output models or multipliers. As is the case in New Hampshire, the state purchased generic input/output model from the Bureau of Economic Development is highly restrictive and is not an appropriate means for looking at sub-state level multipliers as it reports one multiplier for the entire state. Regional tourism multipliers for the state of New Hampshire were estimated using the following weighted sectors as tourism industry: Lodging, Eating and Drinking, Recreation and Amusement, Retail Trade, and Transportation and Services. As expected, the regional output multipliers were smaller, ranging from 1.45 for Merrimack Valley to 1.33 for Great North Woods. This can be explained by the leakages from the regions to the State. On the other hand, the employment multipliers exceeded the State multiplier in all but one case. This indicates that employment in the tourism industry is localized. It is also related to the population base. Seasonal multipliers are still in the investigative stage and will be based on an expanded data set. <br /> <br /> Regarding rural labor and the structure of agriculture industry, efforts this year consisted of analyzing 50 years of trends in farms and farmland in the continental United States. Using counties as the unit, data was collected on key variables from the Ag Censuses 1949-1997. Confirming the general trend of decreasing number of farms and farmland during the 50 years, the focus of this particular effort was on comparing these processes between metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. Using a six-category typology for metro to nonmetro situations, it was found that indeed the amount of loss of farms and farmland was significantly greater in the most metropolitan counties with a linear relationship of less decline to the category of non-metropolitan, non-adjacent. Other significant factors explaining differential farm loss included county location (in 10 Census divisions), population (particularly urban) growth and the initial status (as of 1949) in terms of number of farms, acres of farmland, size of farms. This research was presented at a USDA-ERS briefing conference in January 2004, with subsequent work to become a chapter in a forthcoming book. <br /> <br /> One study resulted in the development of a wage index method.<br /> <br /> Objective #3: To understand the effects of public policy on rural areas and rural industries.<br /> <br /> A workbook was completed to assist users of Ó DIAMATR, a software program that estimates the impact of new residential development on local government budgets. The workbook, "Preparing to use Ó DIAMATR: A Supplement to the Ó DIAMATR User Manual," guides a user in collecting data for use with the software and describes the program's limitations. The workbook stresses that, while Ó DIAMATR can be used as part of a community's comprehensive planning process, it should not substitute for a comprehensive land-use plan. In addition, a short paper was completed for extension educators that answers questions about the effects of state tax-free zones on economic development.<br /> <br /> An NRI-funded study examined a broad set of previously ignored policy-relevant factors that can affect poverty levels in rural areas, including self-employment, political competition and so-called "big-box" retailers. This is being expanded to also consider the effects of NAFTA and the Welfare Reform Act.<br /> <br /> Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Missouri have been collaborating for over 5 years on estimating the impacts of retirees on rural areas. As the project draws to a close, the impacts of it are starting to be seen. <br /> <br /> Researchers in Texas and Missouri finished a project estimating the economic and fiscal impacts of an in-land spaceport in West Texas. <br /> <br /> Work on state and local budgets and taxation continues. A Missouri legislator requested information on how the property tax is implemented in other states. Using the NE-1011 listserv, information was gathered for 15 states. The information was summarized and passed to the legislator. It was also re-distributed to the listserv. Missouri researchers are also analyzing transportation policy in the Midwest in order to determine how policy can better harmonize the needs for greater safety, increased access, and economic development. They have also partnered with the U.S.D.A. Economic Research Service to study the impact of the Conservation Reserve Program on rural communities. The potential impacts of rural entrepreneurship policy and state policy to use innovation at universities for rural job creation are being assessed, and "Rural Entrepreneurship Policy Education for Lawmakers" will be presented in St. Louis.<br /> <br /> The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a long-term cropland retirement program designed to achieve both agricultural supply control and conservation objectives. North Dakota landowners have participated extensively in the CRP; over the past few years, the state's CRP acreage has fluctuated between 3.1 and 3.3 million acres. While the effects of the CRP on agriculture are well-understood, economic assessments of the market value of conservation benefits from the program accruing to rural economies remains largely undocumented. One of the conservation benefits of the program is wildlife habitat, which has bolstered upland bird, waterfowl, and big game populations and contributed to increased consumptive and nonconsumptive wildlife based recreation. A recent study addressed the net economic effects of decreased agricultural activity and increased recreational activity associated with the CRP in six rural areas of North Dakota from 1996 through 2000. The (negative) effects of the CRP on agricultural revenues were based on the level of economic activity that would have occurred in the absence of the program. The net change in revenues from CRP land returning to agricultural production in the six study areas was estimated at $50.2 million annually or $37 per CRP-acre in the study areas. Additional recreational (hunting) revenues in the study areas were estimated at $12.8 million annually or $9.45 per CRP-acre (i.e., 26 percent of the agricultural losses). The net economic effect of the CRP (comparing losses of agricultural revenues and gains in recreational expenditures) indicated that several areas of the state are not as economically burdened by the CRP as previous research has suggested. <br /> <br /> 2003 was the initial year of a five-year project in New York that contributes to a larger multi-state research effort to understand changes in rural communities, rural labor markets, and the impacts of policy on rural areas. Funding for the NY Station portion of this study was received late in the cycle, April 2003, and this hindered the extent of progress initially envisioned for year one. Nevertheless, while waiting for funding, research was conducted to address the broadest of policy issues framing the near future of rural communities and workersthe upcoming elections and the anticipated relative benefits to rural areas in which political parties and candidates lease office space to support their campaigns. Using vote outcomes (Republican/Democrat) as the outcome variable for the last 6 presidential election periods, it was shown that the size of farm population in a county was a significant predictor, net of other influences, on the vote outcome (Republican or Democrat). Looking at the outcome by county since 1980 there was a remarkable consistency across elections, particularly in the mid-West and Mountain states. This paper was presented to the combined American Association of Agricultural Economist/Rural Sociological Society annual meeting in July 2003. Subsequently, a follow-up effort to identify and characterize "hard core" local areas of persistent voting preferences across the coterminous US was finished and presented to a combined group of GIS practitioners and senior staff of NYS Assemblymen and Senators. <br /> <br /> Overviews done of the fiscal condition of states conclude that budget cuts will dominate new tax initiatives. This leaves little hope for added transfers from federal and state governments to rural county governments. How will rural governments, with limited property tax bases and with added demands for services, respond to mandates to improve schools with little new outside aid? It will probably be done by cutting services and programs below levels that are desired if interjurisdictional spillovers are recognized and state/federal transfers to rural governments are made to reduce fiscal burdens on rural counties. Other research is investigating the effects of education and school quality on rural labor markets. Current labor markets are compared with indicators of school quality from 20 years ago in order to better understand the long-term role of a quality education in developing a rural labor force.<br /> <br /> Research is also being done to determine how to structure a water quality/pollution trading market.<br /> <br /> Research focused on the potential effects of a "Taxpayers Bill of Rights" which would limit increases in state government expenditures with respect to inflation and population growth. The economic impact of energy conservation programs is also being examined as a development strategy at the local level. <br /> <br /> In many rural areas there are communities with high levels of natural amenities and large amounts of public land. One project studies how such communities can make the transition from a natural resources-based economy to a tourism/retirement/second home-based economy. Researchers there are also examining how the tourism and amenity market affects the local land market and economic development.<br /> <br /> Objective #4: To identify community characteristics associated with viable and healthy rural communities and investigate policy alternatives to enhance these characteristics.<br /> <br /> Research addressed the effect of farm-neighbor interactions on farm profitability and on land use conversion. With the encouragement of the Oregon Farm Bureau Land Use Committee, OSU researchers interviewed farmers in an urbanizing county to try to estimate the effect of farm-neighbor interactions (equipment sharing , for example) and local availability of farm supply and processing firms on the profitability of farming. Farmer responses suggested that converting agricultural land increased costs of agricultural production in the aggregate about $15 for each acre converted to nonfarm use. Using this estimate, researchers created a dynamic simulation model that simulated the feedback effects of additional farm costs from conversion on the rate of farmland conversion in the county. <br /> <br /> Additional research is being done with five objectives in mind: (1) to develop a northeastern Nevada five-county study area dynamic computable general equilibrium model to estimate impacts of a 1.6 million acre rangeland fire, (2) to develop fiscal impact model for the state of Nevada employing cross-sectional and time-series data, (3)to develop input-output procedures to estimate county and sub-county economic impacts of the local health care sector, (4) to develop procedures for targeted rural economic development, and (5) to develop a count data model for estimating probability of manufacturing sector firm number for the Mountain States of the United States. One research area developed a dynamic computable general equilibrium model for a 1.6 million acre rangeland fire covering five rural Northeastern Nevada counties. Labor was split into agricultural and non-agricultural labor for the analysis. The second area of research has initiated cross-sectional time-series procedures to estimate a fiscal impact model for the state of Nevada. Results have shown that cross-sectional time-series data and procedures can be used for county fiscal models for the state of Nevada. Third, county and sub-county inter-industry models have been developed to estimate economic impacts of the local health care sector or county and sub-county economics. Fourth, procedures have been developed to complete industrial targeting. An industrial location model for the intermountain west is being developed to estimate probabilities of industrial sector location in a specific intermountain west county. <br /> <br /> Investigation of the efficiency of public schools in Arkansas provided insight into whether the state should consolidate its smaller schools. The determinants of educational achievement were analyzed as well. This study has policy implications for the state and regional leaders and educational administrators as resources are allocated to improve the level of human capital.<br /> <br /> The effect of federal fisheries policy is the subject of another study. Researchers are analyzing the spatial distribution of the economic impact of the fisheries. This will allow policy makers to see how much of this money remains in coastal counties. They are also studying the potential economic impacts of grants to produce and market biodiesel and other biofuel substitutes for petroleum-based fuels.

Publications

<br /> Barkley, David. and Mark S. Henry. 2003. "Does Rural School Quality Contribute to Local Labor Force Quality?" 50th Meetings of the Regional Science Association International. Philadelphia. Nov 19-21. (Also Research Report 03-2004-01, Regional Economic Development Research Laboratory, Clemson University, Clemson, SC) <br /> <br /> Bangsund, Dean A., Nancy M. Hodur, and F. Larry Leistritz. 2004. "Agricultural and Recreational Impacts of the Conservation Reserve Program in North Dakota," Journal of Environmental Management (in press)<br /> <br /> Borden, Buddy and Robert R. Fletcher. "Economic Contribution of Nevada's Green Industry Operations on the State of Nevada, 2002." September 2003, UCED 2003/04-13.<br /> <br /> Borden, George W., Robert R. Fletcher, Jim Lopez, and Robin Grumbles. "Water Based User Profile and Estimated Economic Contributions to the Laughlin and Bullhead City Regional Economy." May 2003, UCED 2003/04-02.<br /> <br /> Bowman, S., E. Schuster and B. Weber, "Poverty and Food Assistance in Oregon", EM 8842-E, Oregon State University Extension Service, November 2003 http://eesc.orst.edu/agcomwebfile/edmat/html/EM/EM8842-E/allcounties.pdf <br /> <br /> Cooke, Steven, "Wage and Industry Effects in U.S. Regional Incomes; 1840 to 1987." Journal of Economic History 63, no. 4(2003): 1131-1146.<br /> <br /> Davis, Elizabeth E., Laura S. Connolly and Bruce A. Weber, "Local Labor Market Conditions and the Jobless Poor: How Much Does Local Job Growth Help in Rural Areas?" Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 28(3):503-518, December 2003<br /> <br /> Davis, Elizabeth E., and Bruce A. Weber, "How Much Does Local Job Growth Improve Employment Outcomes of the Rural Working Poor?" Review of Regional Studies, 32(2): 255-274, Fall 2002 (published in 2003)<br /> <br /> DeVuyst, Cheryl S., F. Larry Leistritz, and Angela Schepp. 2003. "Economic Development Initiatives in Rural North Dakota Communities: Socioeconomic Impacts." AAE Rpt. No. 512. Fargo: NDSU, Dept. of Agr. & Applied Economics.<br /> <br /> Edwards, Mark, and Bruce Weber, "Food Insecurity and Hunger in Oregon: A New Look", Working Paper No. AREc 03-104, Corvallis OR: Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Oregon State University, November 2003 http://arec.oregonstate.edu/ruralstudies/hunger.pdf<br /> <br /> Fadali, Elizabeth, John Nolan, and Thomas R. Harris. "Nevada Emergency Medical Survey Results." June 2003, UCED 2003/04-03.<br /> <br /> Fadali, Elizabeth, Thomas R. Harris, and John Packham. "Gabbs Health Care Survey Report." August 2003, UCED 2003/04-04.<br /> <br /> Fadali, Elizabeth, John Nolan, and Thomas R. Harris. "Emergency Medical Services Student Phone Survey Results." September 2003, UCED 2003/04-28.<br /> <br /> Fawson, C., Roberta Herzberg, Jeremy Kidd and Scott Findley. "Market Transition and Long-Term Viability of Utahs Rural Healthcare Network." Utah State University Community Research Initiative Report, June 2003.<br /> <br /> Francis, Joe and David Kay, 2003. "Measuring Local Governmental Fiscal Stress." New York State Sociological Association. Siena College. Loudonville, NY. Oct. 17-18, 2003.<br /> <br /> Francis, J., A. Lembo, and Z. Ross. "A Spatial Approach to Analysis of Election Results." Paper presented at the Joint Meeting of the American Agricultural Economics Association and the Rural Sociological Society, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. July 27-30, 2003<br /> <br /> Francis, Joe, Art Lembo and Zev Ross, 2003. "Visualization and Modeling Spheres of Influence: Enclaves of Contrary Voting Patterns in Presidential Elections 1980-2000." New York State Geographic Information Systems Conference. Albany, NY. Oct. 1-2, 2003<br /> <br /> Goetz, Stephan J., February 2003, RDP No. 16, "Critical Development Issues in Rural Economies." Paper presented at the Agricultural Outlook Forum 2003, February 20, Arlington, VA. 10 pp. http://www.cas.nercrd.psu.edu/Publications/RDPAPERS/rdp16.pdf<br /> <br /> Goetz, Stephan J., April 2003, RDP No. 17, "Proprietor Employment-Dependent Counties." Paper presented at ERSs Measuring Rural Diversity Conference, November 21-22, 2002, Washington, DC. 14 pp. http://www.cas.nercrd.psu.edu/Publications/RDPAPERS/rdp17.pdf<br /> <br /> Goetz, Stephan J. and Anil Rupasingha, "The Returns on Higher Education: Estimates for the 48 Contiguous States," Economic Development Quarterly 17, 4 (Nov. 2003): 337-51.<br /> <br /> Goetz, Stephan J. and Bill Shuffstall, September 2003, RDP No. 20, "Proceedings of the 2003 Northeast Regional Workshop on Bridging the Digital Divide." Summary proceedings of a workshop held May 14-15, 2003, at Johnston Commons, The Pennsylvania State Univ., and University Park, PA. 22 pp.<br /> http://www.cas.nercrd.psu.edu/Publications/RDPAPERS/rdp20.pdf<br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas R., Chang K. Seung, Tim Darden, and William Riggs. "Rangeland Fires in Northern Nevada: An Application of Computable General Equilibrium Modeling." Western Forum, Vol. 1, No. 2 (December 2002): 3-10.<br /> <br /> Henry, Mark. 2003. "Economic and Sociological Impacts of Changes in Agricultural Contracts on Rural Communities." Truth or Consequences: The Future of Contracts in Agriculture. Kansas City, Mo. September 4-5. <br /> <br /> Henry, Mark S. 2003. "Change in the Industrial Organization of Meat Processing in the U.S.: Are Small Plants Best For Rural Growth?" Paper presented at the International Conference: "Small Firms Strategy for Innovation and Regional Problems" Faro, Portugal. 4 and 5, December 2003.<br /> <br /> Henry, Mark S., David Barkley and Haizhen Li, 2003. "Fiscal Trends: Implications for the Rural South." Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 55(2):237-250.<br /> <br /> Henry, Mark S., David Barkley and Haizhen Li, 2003. "Education and Nonmetropolitan Income Growth in the South" Southern Perspectives. 6:3: 3-5. Summer. Southern Rural Development Center. <br /> <br /> Henry, Mark S., Mark Drabenstott, and Kristin Mitchell. 2003. "Meat Processing in Rural America: Economic Powerhouse or Problem?" Chapter 6 Pages 55-68. Communities of Work : Rural Restructuring in Local and Global Contexts. Edited by William W. Falk. Michael D. Schulman, and Ann R. Tickamyer. Athens: Ohio University Press.<br /> <br /> Henry, Mark S. and Willis Lewis. 2003. "Where the Jobs Are: Rural Welfare Caseloads and Metropolitan Area Growth in South Carolina" Selected Paper. Annual Meetings of the Rural Sociology Society, Montreal. July 27-30.<br /> <br /> Henry, Mark S., Haizhen Li and David Barkley. 2003. "Rural School Expenditures, Local Demographics and Tiebout Sorting in South Carolina." Annual Meetings of the Rural Sociology Society. Montreal July 27-30. <br /> <br /> Henry, Mark S., Haizhen Li and David Barkley. 2003. Human Capital and Rural Growth in the Southern United States: 1970-2000. 50th Meetings of the Regional Science Association International. Philadelphia, Nov 19-21.<br /> <br /> Jefferys, Marcie and Davis, Elizabeth E. "Working in Minnesota: Parents Employment and Earnings in the Child Care Assistance Program," Minnesota Child Care Policy Research Partnership, January 2004. <br /> <br /> Kalambokidis, Laura. "The Impact of Tax-Free Zones on Economic Development." Minnesota Public Finance Note #2003-01. April 2, 2003.<br /> <br /> Leistritz, F. Larry, Dean A. Bangsund, and Nancy M. Hodur. 2003. "Agricultural and Recreational Impacts of the Conservation Reserve Program in Rural North Dakota," paper presented at 42nd Annual Meeting of Western Regional Science Association, Tucson, AZ, Feb. 26-March 1.<br /> <br /> Miller, Kathleen K, Mindy S. Crandall, and Bruce A. Weber, "Persistent Poverty and Place: How Do Persistent Poverty and Poverty Dynamics Vary Across the Rural-Urban Continuum?" paper presented at the Measuring Rural Diversity Conference sponsored by the Economic Research Service, Washington DC November 21-22, 2002. (41 pages) (Proceedings website created in 2003) http://srdc.msstate.edu/measuring/miller.pdf <br /> <br /> Miller, Kathleen K and Bruce A. Weber, "Persistent Poverty and Place: How Do Persistent Poverty Dynamics and Demographics Vary Across the Rural-Urban Continuum" Measuring Rural Diversity Policy Series, Volume 1, Issue No.1, Southern Rural Development Center, November 2003. (7 pp.) http://srdc.msstate.edu/measuring/series/miller_weber.pdf <br /> <br /> Miller, Kathleen K. and Bruce A. Weber, "Persistent Poverty Across the Rural-Urban Continuum" RPRC Working Paper No. 03-01, Columbia MO and Corvallis OR: RUPRI Rural Poverty Research Center, July 2003.(30 pp) http://www.rupri.org/rprc/RPRC_Working_Paper_03-01.pdf <br /> <br /> Morris, Douglas E., and Joshua B. Wiersma, "Regional and Seasonal Variations in Economic Multipliers of the Tourism Sector in New Hampshire," presented at Southern Regional Science Association meeting, New Orleans, March 2004.<br /> <br /> Rainey, Daniel V. and Olga Murova. 2003. "Factors Influencing Education Performance." University of Arkansas, Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Staff Paper SP 04 2003. December 2003.<br /> <br /> Rainey, Daniel V. and Olga Murova. 2003. "Arkansas Public School Districts Efficiency Estimation: Is Restructuring Necessary?" University of Arkansas, Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Staff Paper SP 05 2003. December 2003.<br /> <br /> Rainey, Daniel V., Kenneth L. Robinson, Ivye Allen, and Ralph D. Christy. 2003. "Essential Forms of Capital for Sustainable Community Development." American Journal of Agricultural Economics, vol. 85(3): 708-715.<br /> <br /> Rainey, Daniel V., Kenneth L. Robinson, and Ivye Allen. 2003. "Three Forms of Capital for Achieving Sustainable Community Development" in Achieving Sustainable Communities in a Global Economy Proceedings. Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture, and Development, publication forthcoming.<br /> <br /> Rashford, Benjamin S., Bruce A. Weber, David J. Lewis and Rose M. Evonuk, "Farm Neighbors, Land Use Policy and Farmland Conversion: A Dynamic Simulation of Land Use Change in Polk County, Oregon", Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Oregon State University, February 2003 http://arec.oregonstate.edu/ruralstudies/farmneighbors.pdf <br /> <br /> Rashford, Benjamin S., Rose M. Evonuk, David J. Lewis and Bruce A. Weber, "Economic Interrelationships in a Small Farming Area: Towards an Estimate of the Threshold of Agricultural Production for Sustainable Farming", Working Paper No. AREc 03-101, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Oregon State University, January 2003 http://arec.oregonstate.edu/ruralstudies/econinterrelation.pdf <br /> <br /> Renkow, Mitch. 2003. "Employment Growth, Worker Mobility, and Rural Economic Development," American Journal of Agricultural Economics 85(2): 504-514.<br /> <br /> Renkow, Mitch. 2003. "Employment Growth and the Allocation of New Jobs: Evidence from the South." Selected paper, 2003 American Agricultural Economics Association meetings, Montreal, Canada.<br /> <br /> Renkow, Mitch. 2003. "Population Deconcentration in the South." NC State Economist (November).<br /> <br /> Rupasingha, Anil and Stephan J. Goetz, "The Causes of Enduring Poverty, An Expanded Spatial Analysis of the Structural Determinants of Poverty in the US," December 2003, University Park, PA. http://www.cas.nercrd.psu.edu/Publications/RDPAPERS/rdp22.pdf<br /> <br /> Shields, M. (2003). "Using Employment Data to Better Understand your Local Economy: Introduction." Penn State Cooperative Extension. 6 pp.<br /> <br /> Shields, M. (2003). "Using Employment Data to Better Understand your Local Economy: Read Me First." Penn State Cooperative Extension. 6 pp.<br /> <br /> Shields, M. (2003). "Develop a 'Snapshot' of Important Local Indicators." Penn State Cooperative Extension. 6 pp.<br /> <br /> Shields, M. (2003). "Chart the Historical Performance of Key Economic Indicators." Penn State Cooperative Extension. 6 pp.<br /> <br /> Shields, M. (2003). "Use Location Quotients to Identify Local Economic Strengths, Opportunities and Industry Clusters." Penn State Cooperative Extension. 6 pp.<br /> <br /> Shields, M. (2003). "A Pennsylvania Internet Resource for Industry Employment and Occupation Projections." Penn State Cooperative Extension. 6 pp.<br /> <br /> Shields, M. (2003). "Qualitative Analysis Can Provide Unique Insights into Local Economic Performance." Penn State Cooperative Extension. 6 pp.<br /> <br /> Shields, M. and S. Deller. (2003). "Using Economic Impact Models as an Educational Tool in Community Economic Development Programming: Lessons from Pennsylvania and Wisconsin," Journal of Extension (41):3 http://www.joe.org/joe/2003june/a4.shtml.<br /> <br /> Shields, M. and J. Novak. (2003). "An Examination of the Effects of Employment Growth on Unemployment Rates in Rural Pennsylvania," Pennsylvania Economic Review. (12)1:36-50.<br /> <br /> Shields, Martin, Judith I. Stallmann and Steven C. Deller. "The Economic and Fiscal Impacts of the Elderly on a Small Rural Region." Journal of the Community Development Society. 34(1):85-106. 2003<br /> <br /> Shields, M. and F. Willits. (2003). "The Growing Importance of the Green Industry in the Agricultural Economy of the Northeast," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review. 32(2):259-71.<br /> <br /> Shields, M. and C. Vivanco. (2003). "Rural Pennsylvania's 'New-Economy': Identifying the Causes of Growth and Developing New Opportunities." Center for Rural Pennsylvania. 93 pages. <br /> <br /> Stenberg, Peter L., "Patterns in Investment and Use of Communication and Information Technology in the U.S." in Iréne Johansson, editor, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Regional Development and Public Policy, Sweden: University of Trollhättan/Uddevalla, 2003, pp. 425-36.<br /> <br /> Stenberg, Peter L., Telecommunication Rural Policy in the U.S.: Issues and Economic Consequences" in Graham Dalton, John Bryden, Mark Shucksmith, and Ken Thomson, editors, European Rural Policy at the Crossroads, Aberdeen, Scotland: The Arkleton Centre for Rural Development Research, 2003, pp.149-65.<br /> <br /> Weber, Bruce A., Review of The Failure of National Rural Policy: Institutions and Interests by William P. Browne, Journal of Regional Science, 43(1):202-204, 2003<br /> <br /> Weber, Bruce, Mark Edwards and Greg Duncan, "Single Mother Work and Poverty Under Welfare Reform: Are Policy Impacts Different in Rural Areas?" NPC Working Paper #03-07, Ann Arbor MI: National Poverty Center, September 2003. http://www.npc.umich.edu/publications/working_papers/paper7a/index.shtml

Impact Statements

1. Economic impact analysis was critical in restoring proposed budget cuts to Pennsylvanias hospital reimbursement plan. Providing analysis on the economic benefits of a hospital in helped one local hospital secure a $1 million grant from the state.
2. Examining rural global competitiveness provides insight to community and state leaders about the issues that they must address to sustain rural economic vitality in the coming years.
3. Results of research has helped shape policy discussions of reauthorization of welfare reform and of Oregon&lsquo;s Workforce Investment Act.
4. The creation of a formal partnership with the Mississippi Hospital Association, a Montgomery County Health Care Survey and the formation of the East Central Mississippi Health Network.
5. Research results were used by South Carolina state government in selecting among alternative entrepreneurial support programs and in designing programs for the states specific needs.
6. The findings of the Concervation Reserve Program study are being used by Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) and his staff as background for their "Open Fields" Initiative.
7. The Western Nevada Development District has used results of the industrial targeting studies for their districts local economic development strategy and planning.

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Report Information

Participants

See attached meeting minutes.

Brief Summary of Minutes

At the annual meeting, general business (acknowledgements, old business follow-up, announcements, elections, plans for upcoming meetings) was quickly dispatched in order to devote the bulk of the time on a focused discussion about how to extend our expertise as applied economists to identify more clearly the value-added by experiment station supported social science research, particularly applied economic analysis. The group was inspired by the Bush Administration's current interest in competitive versus formula-funded research. It is important to correctly measure how well society is served by research under either type of mechanism. In part, discussion focused on how to prepare more correct and more compelling "impact" statements.

Five different analytical and evaluative perspectives, appropriate for a wide array of different activities with different impacts were identified and outlined in a special work program for 2005-06. Five teams were formed to prepare five papers. Each team will write a "White Paper" that provides a primer on, critical literature review, and a demonstration of one evaluative approach as applied to at least one actual NE-1011 activity. The white papers will be discussed at the next NE-1011 annual meetings, and will be disseminated in multiple ways. These include presentations at meetings of ESCOP and ECOP, publication in a special issue of the JRAP (Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy) if possible, as well as posted on the two websites: http://www.agls.uidaho.edu/scooke/ne1011.htm and http://cenet.aers.psu.edu/default.asp.

Three research paper sessions were also held in which twelve research papers were presented and formally discussed. The topics included: how new jobs are allocated across commuters, in-migrants, and local residents; rural poverty over time, the shift from higher to lower wage jobs, the actual efficacy of "trickle down" prosperity, how a better definition of rurality affects research and policy, how to apply network analytical tools to community development issues, new theories for analyzing human resource management, economic impacts of mad cow disease scares in USA, telecommunication issues, and new social accounting techniques focusing on disabled people.

Detailed meeting minutes are attached.

Accomplishments

Objective 1: To better understand the emerging opportunities and threats to the economic structure of non-metropolitan communities arising from forces that change the size or structure of rural markets. We focus on electronic commerce, financial liberalization, and health care.<br /> <br /> Work was conducted on direct marketing and local food systems, focusing on their connections to increasing value-added activities by farmers and ranchers, as well as analyzing consumer interest in Colorado food products. The range of activities analyzed included the marketing to chefs in Northern Colorado, new product development by beef producers on the West Slope of the Rockies, and retailing strategies to promote local products and provide better access to consumers for relatively small producers. <br /> <br /> Two NE-1011 projects focused on ocean-based activities. One effort studied the policies and programs available to enhance the sustainability of the South Carolina shrimp trawling industry. Analysis was conducted to determine the economic viability of local processing facilities to capture value added, and the applicability of niche marketing programs to increase sales of locally caught shrimp to S.C. tourists. The findings of the economic analysis of the shrimp trawling industry was presented to S.C. industry members. The industry is now undertaking a marketing program focused on the coastal counties, and industry members in the northern part of the S.C. coast can make good use of this analysis in their investigation of the viability of a cooperative effort to establish and manage another processing facility. <br /> <br /> A comprehensive survey of commercial fishermen participating in cooperative research through the Northeast Consortium was conducted to understand what fishermen think about their projects and the relative importance of this program to themselves and their communities. The results showed that fishermen strongly favor cooperative research, but sometimes feel inconvenienced by conflicting schedules or bad weather, which occasionally results in opportunity costs. Respondents felt like they were realizing benefits from cooperative research in addition to the money that they receive for their participation. Some of the most frequently cited benefits were forming trust and relationships with scientists and managers, gathering more accurate data, developing better gear technology, and increasing their personal knowledge. Fishermen also felt that the use of cooperative research data by management would provide benefits in the form of better management regulations. An economic impact model was used to show that Northeast Consortium funding cooperative research funding has a positive economic impact throughout the regional economy. The Northeast Consortium has distributed approximately $7.2 million to fund commercial fishermen participating in cooperative research over the last four years. The total economic contribution of cooperative research to fishing communities equaled $12,674,735 (Direct + Indirect + Induced). The relative non-economic contribution to fishing communities equaled over $16 million. In sum, the total regional contribution of the Northeast Consortium cooperative research funding was over $28 million. <br /> <br /> The committee studies all rural sectors, not just farming, ranching, fisheries, or foresters. An industrial location model for the intermountain west is being developed to estimate probabilities of industrial sector location in a specific intermountain west county and procedures have been developed to complete cluster industrial targeting. The City of Sparks, Nevada, has used the cluster industrial targeting study in its economic development program. <br /> <br /> Another focus of the project is on e-commerce and rural health care. With respect to e-commerce, innovative research about a change in national sales tax policies that may have significantly different affects on rural retail or wholesaling businesses as well as state or local tax revenues. Missouri has signed onto the national agreement for the "streamlined sales tax," but has not enacted any legislation. Implementing a streamlined sales tax will be necessary if states wish to be able to tax internet and catalog sales. Preliminary analysis indicates that the streamlined sales tax would provide increased tax revenues to rural areas. The tax revenue increase may not be as dramatic as expected in rural areas that lack the broadband necessary for ease in internet shopping, or where residents do not shop on-line as much as their urban counterparts.<br /> <br /> Another effort measured the economic impact on income, employment and output of Monadnock Community Hospital, a rural hospital located in Peterborough, NH. The total economic effects of the hospital on its primary service area were $14.4 million in income, 509 jobs, and $70.4 million in total output. For the total service area, the hospital's total effects on income, employment, and output were $18.2 million, 648 jobs, and $79.3 million, respectively. The impact of the hospital's purchases from the total service area was analyzed separately. Those purchases contributed $2.8 million in income, 76 jobs, and $6.2 million in output to the economy of the total service area.<br /> <br /> Efforts were continued to document and model the forces of change that are restructuring health care markets in the rural west. That research focuses on the development of a typology of market structures associated with rural health services in six western states where federal lands are a significant component of the land ownership structure within a county or region. Interviews with stakeholders and policymakers within the identified states have been completed and formal analysis of market structure typologies is on-going. The rural health market typology research is expected to provide federal, state and local healthcare policy professionals with a better understanding of how policy interventions actually impact access to, and quality of, health care delivery systems in rural markets. This understanding will lead to more effective design of healthcare policy in a context that is compatible with incentives that reside in rural healthcare market structures.<br /> <br /> County and sub-county inter-industry models were developed and applied to estimate economic impacts of the local health care sector on county and sub-county economies. The health sector impact analysis has been used by rural hospitals considering Critical Access hospital (CAH) designation. <br /> <br /> Objective 2: To determine the root causes of changes in rural labor markets, the employment and demographic growth that are likely to occur in the future, and the degree to which these factors are modified by workforce development policies. <br /> <br /> Research was completed on the role of local school quality on county labor force quality. The findings indicate a positive correlation between county labor force quality (as reflected in share of adults with college degree in 2000) and local school quality in 1980-1990 (as measured by test scores, pupil-teacher ratios, and spending per student). However, the impact of improved labor force quality on nonmetro county employment was small. This may be legacy of a history of recruitment of low-wage, low-skill industries to rural areas. Research also was continued on the impact of metropolitan regional innovation systems (RIS) on nearby nonmetro counties. Preliminary findings indicate that nonmetro areas near centers of innovative activity benefited primarily by attracting new residents as opposed to new jobs. <br /> <br /> Focus group discussions were conducted with agricultural managers in dairy, greenhouse, and nursery production and in landscaping to learn about labor management practices. Also employed were labor management case studies undertaken with six dairy farms, four greenhouses, six nurseries, and four landscape contractors. The six dairy cases have been analyzed in a resource-based theory framework to study its applicability to labor management on farms. The resource-based theory provides a useful framework for analyzing labor management questions in agriculture and a basis for management recommendations to increase competitiveness. The results provide an empirical basis for developing both testable hypotheses and survey items understandable to agricultural producers and their employees. The data gained through the focus group discussions and the case studies enables a deeper understanding of how agricultural actors conceptualize their work. Based on the knowledge gained through the case analysis, previously develop workshop material were further refined and tailored to include specific recommendations for agricultural managers. These materials have been presented to producers and extension educators in Michigan and shared with extension educators in other states. They have also been used to create human resource management risk education material for The State University of New Jersey (Rutgers) Commodity Partnership Agreement in conjunction with the USDA Risk Management Agency and the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, which is to be broadly distributed to agricultural producers. In using these materials, agricultural managers will be able to increase labor productivity by 30% and reduce risk. In addition, employee well-being and safety on farms will increase.<br /> <br /> Work was begun on an analysis entitled "U.S. Wages and Salaries: A Decomposition of the Sources of Change Between 1978, 1988, & 1998" using U.S. Bureau of Economic Activity, regional economic data of wages and employment by industry. Wages grew about 6% over this twenty year time span and not at all between 1978 and 1988. This slow growth in wages came at a time when the returns to proprietors and capital were increasing much faster. Was the lack of growth in wages associated with the "wage effect" associated with low productivity and institutional changes in how wages are distributed or was it the result of an "industry effect" in which bad jobs replaced good ones? Preliminary results show that the wage effect was positive between 1978-1988 and 1988-1998. However the industry effect was consistently negative over each of these time periods. Results also show that the distribution of wages by sector became more unequal. By knowing the extent of these effects on the U.S. economy, we can use the information as a baseline to compare changes in the regional and state economies of the U.S. to see if they are affected more or less by these forces than the nation as a whole. This will help states and regions tailor their economic development policies to compliment those of the nation and to be consistent with the needs of their region.<br /> <br /> The affordability of childcare in rural and urban Minnesota was analyzed with the objective to determine what proportion of childcare providers were affordable to families of different income levels. Certain rural counties in Minnesota, typically those with lower median income, were more likely to face childcare affordability problems. Childcare affordability is an issue of concern in many communities, as child care impacts both workforce availability and school readiness.<br /> <br /> Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) was analyzed to compare the impact of employment growth on labor market outcomes in rural versus urban areas. This study finds that better economic conditions are associated with higher wages for less educated workers. A second project uses a county-level database on employment, commuting and labor force in Minnesota from the 1990 and 2000 Census. Using a model developed by North Carolina researchers involved in this multi-state project, the results suggest that local labor markets adjust to labor demand shocks through changes to in-commuting and out-commuting, labor force participation, and unemployment.<br /> <br /> A research project concerning human capital (labor) development investigated one mechanism via which public spending density may affect performance, by focusing on school size and student performance. The research suggests a new way to obtain more efficient and cost-effective schools that does not require consolidating across towns. The one-room school house model appears to be more efficient after all. <br /> <br /> Researchers have been working I/O tables and models of county labor markets which illustrates how econometric models of county labor markets may be conjoined with county input-output models for improved economic and labor market impact analysis. As a result, community development personnel and regional economists have a new and better procedure for using input-output analysis to include labor impacts and fiscal impacts.<br /> <br /> Research on economic and demographic changes in rural communities was extended by collecting interview and survey data from three rural North Dakota communities that had experienced economic development stemming from either manufacturing or exported services facilities, as well as for two communities that had not experienced major new development projects during the 1990s. Improved job opportunities and enhanced incomes were generally seen as major positive effects of each of the new economic development initiatives. Further, aside from some management and engineering positions, most of the plant jobs appeared to represent employment opportunities for area workers, rather than being taken primarily by in-migrants. Residents' incomes were enhanced both by the plants' jobs and payroll (which often represented second incomes for area households) and by increased incomes for area farmers (in the case of agricultural processing facilities). Because most of the plant jobs were taken by persons already living in the area, the new plants did not lead to substantial in-migration or major population growth in the host communities. Rather, a reoccurring comment by local leaders was that the plant in their community had stabilized the local economy and population. Comparison of population trends in the development and control communities supports the perception of local informants that the economic development initiatives served to stabilize local populations.<br /> <br /> Research was conducted on the extent to which county employment growth in 13 southern states is divided between current residents, in-migrants, and (non-resident) commuters. The research employed a labor market model that explicitly accounts for movements of workers across county lines - in conjunction with labor market adjustments that occur within a county - when an exogenous labor demand shock takes place. Estimation results are consistent with a priori expectations concerning the impact of relative wages, relative housing prices and employment shocks on commuting and unemployment. It was concluded that the fiscal impacts of employment growth associated with changes in residential demands for publicly provided services and residential provision of property tax revenues will be substantially smaller than is commonly supposed. Signficant rural-urban differences were found to exist. A relatively greater fraction of new jobs in metro counties are filled by (non-resident) in-commuters than is the case for rural counties, while employment growth in rural counties appears to be accommodated to a relatively greater degree by reductions in out-commuting. Evidence is also presented indicating that labor force growth (and, by extension, population growth and residential development) in rural counties is substantially more sensitive to employment growth in nearby counties than is the case for urban counties. Thus, while employment growth in rural counties may lead to smaller fiscal impacts than is often supposed, employment growth in nearby counties represents an important countervailing factor that also tends to be overlooked in economic and fiscal impact analyses. These research findings represent an important input into current debates over desirable economic development stategies, land use planning, and "smart growth." Because of this, they have already elicited significant interest on the part of policy makers and local government officials throughout North Carolina. That North Carolina's experience is similar to that of the Southern region as a whole promises to engender similar interest across a wider cross-section of states. <br /> <br /> Research on rural labor markets included initiation of a project to examine the changing market conditions for hardwood processors in Pennsylvania and adjacent states, and the labor force needs of processors in the face of these changes. A survey of hardwood processors was completed, with analysis to be finished in 2005. Hardwood processors will benefit from the study on labor needs within this industry, an important industry in Pennsylvania and adjacent states. <br /> <br /> Ongoing research continued on rural-urban differentials in the effects of welfare reform, through the collection of data on low-income individuals participating in a project within Pennsylvania to connect low-income individuals with employers and with community mentors. A survey of employers was undertaken as part of this project, to better understand employer perceptions of the problems they face in hiring these workers. Given current interest in the effects of marriage on the `outcomes' of recipients of public assistance, the existing project is being expanded to assess the public assistance-work-marriage nexus that is at the heart of current proposals for welfare policy. <br /> <br /> Policy research is also being undertaken on the effects of immigration policy on farm workers in the U.S., focusing on differences in economic well-being measures between international shuttlers (those who reside principally in Mexico and migrate to the U.S. to work on farms part of the year) versus `settled' workers who reside year-round in the U.S. The work assesses the provision of benefits by employers and access to public assistance programs, as well as the longer-term effects of migration status on schooling and farm worker health. Using data from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS), results show that those who `shuttle' are more likely to receive health benefits in the form of health insurance and health care in the case of injury or illness occurring as the result of farm work. On the other hand, settled workers are more likely to receive other employer-provided and public support, although public assistance support is very low in the population. <br /> <br /> Researchers working in collaboration with the RUPRI Rural Poverty Research Center documented trends and explored the factors that reduced poverty rates and led counties out of persistent poverty status during the 1990s. A critical review of the literature on rural poverty confirmed the higher prevalence of poverty in nonmetro areas and found that while both compositional (individual) and contextual (structural) factors are at play, a complete explanation of poverty rates and changes remains elusive. This study was the first attempt to model determinants of poverty change using tract-level data in the United States across two census years. Results suggest that job growth does have a poverty-reducing effect, and that this effect is larger in high-poverty tracts. The negative effect of being located in a poverty pocket is most pronounced in low-poverty tracts, but the poverty-reducing effect of job growth is also greatest for low-poverty tracts surrounded by high poverty. Social capital appears to be most important in contributing to poverty decline in high-poverty areas. It also enhances the impact of job growth in medium poverty areas.<br /> <br /> Results from a study using the Current Population Survey, a national sample of households, suggest that, holding demographics constant, changes in welfare and social policy during the 1990s contributed to the employment increases but not to poverty reduction for both rural and urban single mothers. They also suggest that differences between urban and rural single mothers in age, race, and education resulted in the policy changes having less effect on rural single mother work and poverty. <br /> <br /> Researchers examined why some U.S. households are asset poor; that is, why households have insufficient resources to invest in their future or to sustain household members at a basic level during times of economic disruption. A random-effects logistic model of the probability that an individual is asset poor at a given point in time as a function of household-level (e.g. gender and race of the household head; family structure) and place-level (region and metropolitan or nonmetropolitan county) variables was developed. The central finding was that place of residence is an important determinant of asset poverty, above and beyond the influence of household characteristics. Living in a central metropolitan county and in a nonmetropolitan area is associated with a higher risk of being asset poor, all else being equal<br /> <br /> Objective 3: To understand the effects of public policy on rural areas and rural industries.<br /> <br /> Researchers found that states responded to the recent fiscal crisis by depleting reserves, cutting spending--even in traditionally protected areas such as K-12 education--implementing aggressive Medicaid cost-containment, and raising some fees and taxes. While state tax revenues are beginning to grow modestly, revenues are well below their pre-crisis levels. States have not yet enacted tax reform that could hold back the eroding sales and corporate tax bases, and property taxes are likely to suffer declining support from an aging taxpayer population. At the same time, pressure persists to increase state spending, particularly on the big-ticket categories of education and Medicaid. In sum, the costs of providing the public services demanded by citizens and mandated by higher levels of governments are likely to exceed revenues generated by the current state and local tax system. Budget crises are likely to become an annual occurrence, and finding solutions will become increasing more difficult. The analysis will provide state and local officials with important information about helping rural economies. Economic development strategies are often focused locally, but the results suggest that given the mobility of workers, strategies may be more effective at the regional or multi-region level within and across states.<br /> <br /> Patterns of farmland change and the effects of export policy and subsidies on the amount and location of change in non-metropolitan vs. metropolitan counties were examined. Regarding rural labor and the structure of agriculture industry, efforts this year consisted of analyzing 50 years of trends in farms and farmland in the continental US. Using counties as the unit, data was collected on key variables from the Ag Censuses 1949-1997. Confirming the general trend of decreasing number of farms and farmland during the 50 years, the focus of this particular effort was on comparing these processes between metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. This research was presented at a USDA-ERS briefing conference that included various federal agency personnel as well as non-profit, non-governmental community development agency personnel in January 2004, with subsequent work to become a chapter in a forthcoming book.<br /> <br /> Another line of research was begun to examine a timely aspect of community health-local fiscal crisis. Data was collected for all general purpose local governmental units in New York (counties, cities, towns and villages)from the NYS Office of the Controller's annual fiscal reports. Compiled into a local government data base, we have information on revenues, expenditures, debt, and capital outlays from 1977 to 2002 for most of these units. Indicators of fiscal condition have been constructed and presented to staff members of the NYS Office of Controller. <br /> <br /> Research on factors influencing household location decisions and residential property values was completed in 2004. A conjoint survey to identify trade-offs that households make in selecting a residential location. The same dataset was used to consider how residential demand changed immediately after 9/11. Model estimation that deal with the effects of livestock facilities on residential property values was completed in 2004. <br /> <br /> Other research completed in 2004 focused on the causes of urbanization and rural-to-urban land use change. This research uses parcel-level land use change data (from Ohio and Maryland respectively) to estimate a spatially explicit model of residential land conversion and then use the parameter estimates to predict how the spatial pattern of land conversion changes under alternative scenarios. Land use policy personnel and local officials will gain a clearer understanding of factors that affect land use conversion. Agricultural and community leaders will gain a better understanding of the amenity value of farmland. <br /> <br /> An analysis, conducted using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, calls into question the standard view that nonmetro poverty is worse than metro poverty. Understanding the extent and incidence of transitory versus persistent poverty is important for developing strategies that target poor populations. The county government study has already been used by the National Association of Counties (NACo) and by many county governments throughout the United States to better understand trends in local government budgets. <br /> <br /> While the effects of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) on agriculture are well understood, economic assessments of the market value of conservation benefits from the program accruing to rural economies remains largely undocumented. One of the conservation benefits of the program is wildlife habitat, which has bolstered upland bird, waterfowl, and big game populations and contributed to increased consumptive and non-consumptive wildlife based recreation. A recent study addressed the net economic effects of decreased agricultural activity and increased recreational activity associated with the CRP in six rural areas of North Dakota from 1996 through 2000. The (negative) effects of the CRP on agricultural revenues were based on the level of economic activity that would have occurred in the absence of the program. The net change in revenues from CRP land returning to agricultural production in the six study areas was estimated at $50.2 million annually or $37 per CRP-acre in the study areas. Additional recreational (hunting) revenues in the study areas were estimated at $12.8 million annually or $9.45 per CRP-acre (i.e., 26 percent of the agricultural losses). The net economic effect of the CRP (comparing losses of agricultural revenues and gains in recreational expenditures) indicated that several areas of the state are not as economically burdened by the CRP as previous research has suggested. <br /> <br /> A data base using the 2002 Census of Governments has been compiled that compares all 50 states on major state and local taxes and expenditures. The database is ready for distribution to any member of NE-1011 that requests it, as has been done in the past. Presentations have been made on state and local public finance and also on municipal finance and economic development financing options available to local governments. <br /> <br /> Missouri and Texas are using Value at Risk, a technique from the private sector, to evaluate the risk of public revenue portfolios and the implications of that risk for rainy day funds for local governments. Case studies of two municipalities have been completed and a paper presented at a professional meeting. Presentations on the local economies in two regions resulted in interviews with the Columbia Tribune and the St. Louis Post Dispatch. A presentation on the St. Louis economy and labor force was re-broadcast several times on Public TV in the St. Louis area. The on-line training, "Local Economic Analysis," has been taken by local economic developers in Missouri and by extension field faculty in several states. Analysis from the course was presented to 45 elected officials and chamber officers in the State of Washington. The emphasis was on how the information could be used to promote local growth. Some examples of how the course have been used can be found on the website: http://stevens.wsu.edu/Community/econdevresc.htm<br /> <br /> A project was completed on capital needs for rural economic growth which highlighted the importance of human, social, and public capital improvements for enhanced competitiveness in the global economy. The research examining the rural global competitiveness provides insight to community and state leaders about the issues they need to address to sustain economic vitality in the coming years.<br /> <br /> Another study further examined the factors which lead to growth in the level of human capital attainment. Improvements in human capital and public capital (infrastructure) will be essential for economic growth. In addition, communities must create stronger bonds between businesses, institutions, and residents. State and local governments all over the country are in an intense competition to attract footloose industry. <br /> <br /> Objective 4: To identify community characteristics associated with viable and healthy rural communities and investigate policy alternatives to enhance these characteristics.<br /> <br /> Four state teams are collaborating in the collection and analysis of the first (known) cross-section survey of community network data (Iowa, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Oregon). The surveys were completed during calendar 2004. Data was collected on the community networks in three relations (money, income and support) in 58 towns. Researchers have also collected most of the desired side information on all 58 towns, have opened a project website, and have outlined the metadata and the anonymization approach. This effort will deliver a set of publicly available metadata and data on the networks of 60 towns across the USA, augmented with side information on history, natural resources, scenic endowments, sectoral economic activity, location, demographics, proximity to market centers, and local fiscal policies, in forms that guarantee the anonymity of the surveyed towns and entities within those towns. <br /> <br /> Another research project engaging NE-1011 participants in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Missouri on the impact of retirees on rural areas continues to have impacts. Missouri was contacted by the Louisiana Governor's Office to provide insights into plans to restructure Louisiana's cultural, art, ecotourism and tourism departments. Of particular interest was the issue of how to market to retirees and encourage them to migrate to the state.

Publications

Altman, Ira J. and Thomas G. Johnson, Samuel J. Orr and Phillip C. Badger. 2004. Financial Feasibility and Economic Impacts of an Anaerobic Digester System: The Case of Haubenschild Farms . Community Policy Analysis Center Report R-2004-14. October.<br /> <br /> Bangsund, Dean A., Nancy M. Hodur, and F. Larry Leistritz. 2004. "Agricultural and Recreational Impacts of the Conservation Reserve Program in North Dakota," Journal of Environmental Management (in press).<br /> <br /> Barkley, David L., Mark S. Henry and Brian Gantt. "The South Carolina Shrimp Trawling Industry: 2003 Survey Results." REDRL Research Report 09-2004-01, Regional Economic Development Research Laboratory, Clemson University, September 2004.<br /> <br /> Barkley, David L., Mark S. Henry, and Ferdinand DiFurio. "Does School Quality Contribute to Local Labor Force Quality?" REDRL Research Report 03-2004-01, Regional Economic Development Research Laboratory, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, March 2004.<br /> <br /> Barney, J., T.Whitlow and J. Francis, (forthcoming 2005) "Visualizing Value Systems: Exploring Property Value and Eco-system Services in Constructed Three Dimensional Space." In Geographic Information and Critical Geographic Research. Temple University Press. Philadelphia, PA. 2004.<br /> <br /> Bao, Shuming, Mark S. Henry, and David L. Barkley. Identifying Urban-Rural Linkages: Tests for Spatial Effects in the Carlino-Mills Model. in Advancess of Spatial Econometrics, Luc Anselin, R. Florax, and S. J. Rey (editors), Springer: New York, 2004, pp. 321-334. <br /> <br /> Bitsch, V. and Harsh, S.B. 2004. Labor risk attributes in the green industry: Business owners' and managers' perspectives. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 36:731-745.<br /> <br /> Bitsch, V. 2004. Focus group discussions as a research and extension method: The case of personnel management issues in horticultural businesses. Acta Horticulturae 655:461-469.<br /> <br /> Bitsch, V., Harsh, S.B. and Mugera, A.W. 2004. Top managers share employee tips and traps: A recent Michigan survey shows what tactics work and don't work with employees on their farms. Hoard's Dairyman-The National Dairy Farm Magazine 149 (3), February 10, 2004, p. 95.<br /> <br /> Brewin, D. 2004. Three Essays in Regional Economics that Consider the Importance of Space, Agglomeration, and Income. Ph.D. Dissertation. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. 201 pp. <br /> <br /> Burkey, Jake and Thomas R. Harris. 2004. "Modeling a Share or Proportion with Logit and Tobit: The Effect of Outcommuting on Retail Sales". The Review of Regional Studies, Vol. 33, Nos. 3, pp: 328-342.<br /> <br /> Carrion-Flores, Carmen and Elena G. Irwin (2004). Determinants of Residential Land Use Conversion and Sprawl at the Rural-Urban Fringe. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 86(4): 889-904.<br /> <br /> Crandall, Mindy S. and Bruce A. Weber, "Local Social and Economic Conditions, Spatial Concentrations of Poverty and Poverty Dynamics", American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 86(5):1276-1281, December 2004.<br /> <br /> Davis, E.E. and Li, N. 2004. Child Care Affordability in Minnesota: Is There a Crisis? CURA Reporter, Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, University of Minnesota, August.<br /> <br /> Eiswerth, Mark E., Tim D. Darden, Wayne S. Johnson, Jean Agapoff, and Thomas R. Harris. "Input-Output Modeling, Outdoor Recreation, and the Economic Impacts of Weeds", Weed Science. (Accepted for Publication).<br /> <br /> Fadali, Elizabeth, Thomas R. Harris, and Buddy Borden. "Socioeconomic Profile for Winnemucca Study Area and Balance of Humboldt County", February 2004, UCED 2003/04-29.<br /> <br /> Fadali, Elizabeth, Jerry Buk, and Thomas R. Harris. "Mineral County Survey of Residents", February 2004, UCED 2003/04-30.<br /> <br /> Fadali, Elizabeth, Thomas R. Harris, and John Nolan. "Emergency Medical Technician Test Score Analysis", April 2004, UCED 2004/05-04.<br /> <br /> Fadali, Elizabeth, Thomas R. Harris, Buddy Borden, and Mike Havercamp. "Socio-Economic Profile for East and West Lincoln County Study Area." April 2004, UCED 2004/05-05.<br /> <br /> Fadali, Elizabeth, Thomas R. Harris, Buddy Borden, and Jim Lopez. "Socio-Economic Profile for City of Ely Study Area and Baker-Leander Study Area." January 2004, UCED 2004/05-06. <br /> <br /> Fadali, Elizabeth, Thomas R. Harris, and Al Circelli, Jr. "Nevada Horse Owner Survey Results", October 2004. UCED 2004/05-16.<br /> <br /> Fannin, J. Matthew and Thomas G. Johnson. 2004. "The Regional Spillover Effects of Knowledge Production on Missouri Counties," Annual Meeting of the Southern Regional Science Association, New Orleans, Louisiana, March. <br /> <br /> Fawson C. and Herzberg R. 2004. Estimating Demand and Supply Response to Tuition Tax Credits for Private School Tuition in Utah. http://www.le.state.ut.us/documents/Final%20Report-pdf.pdf. <br /> <br /> Findeis, J. 2004. Understanding Farm Households: The New Census of Agriculture. 2004 Ag Outlook Forum Proceedings, Washington, DC. <br /> <br /> Fisher, Monica G., and Bruce A. Weber, "Does Economic Vulnerability Depend on Place of Residence? Asset Poverty across Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Areas", The Review of Regional Studies, 34(3), 2004 (in press).<br /> <br /> Francis, Joe and David Kay, 2003. "Measuring Local Governmental Fiscal Stress." New York State Sociological Association. Siena College. Loudonville, NY. Oct. 17-18, 2003.<br /> <br /> Francis, Joe and David Kay, 2003. "Structural Factors Affecting Local Governmental Fiscal Stress." 23rd Annual Conference, North East Section of the Regional Science Association (NERSA). State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY. Nov. 6-8, 2003.<br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas R. "Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for Humboldt County", January 2004, UCED 2003/04-20. <br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas R. "Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for White Pine County: Part I", January 2004, UCED 2003/04-21. <br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas R. "Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for Elko County: Part I", January 2004, UCED 2003/04-22. <br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas R., "Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for Lander County: Part I", February 2004, UCED 2003/04-31. <br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas R., Tabor Griswold, Marianne Serguson, John Packham, and Caroline Ford." Economic Impact and Linkages of the Local Health Care Sector on the Economy of White Pine County", January 2004, UCED 2003/04-23. <br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas, Tabor Griswold, Marianne Segurson, John Packham, and Caroline Ford, "Economic Impact and Linkages of the Local Health Care Sector on the Economy of Lander County, Nevada", January 2004, UCED 2003/04-24. <br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas R. "Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for Elko County: Part IV: Current and Future Employment, Output, and Occupation Forecasts", March 2004, UCED 2003/04-33. <br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas R. "Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for Lincoln County: Part I", April 2004, UCED 2004/05-01. <br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas R. "Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for Lander County: Part III: Economic Base and Change for the Battle Mountain Study Area and Austin Study Area", May 2004. UCED 2004/05-07. <br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas R. and Joan Wright. "Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for Lander County: Part V: Additional Information", May 2004, UCED 2004/05-08. <br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas R., Michael Havercamp, and Buddy Borden. "Lincoln County Strategic Tourism Plan." June 2004, UCED 2004/05-09. <br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas R. and Jeffery Hardcastle. "Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for Humboldt County: Part IV: Current and Future Employment, Output, and Occupation Forecasts". June 2004. UCED 2004/05-10. <br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas R. and Jeffery Hardcastle. "Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for White Pine County: Part IV: Current and Future Employment, Output, and Occupation Forecasts", June 2004, UCED 2004/05-11. <br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas R., Jeffery Hardcastle, Buddy Borden, and Michael Havercamp. "Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for Lincoln County: Part IV: Current and Future Employment, Output, and Occupation Forecasts." June 2004, UCED 2004/05-12. <br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas R. Harris and Jeffery Hardcastle. "Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for Lander County: Part IV: Current and Future Employment, Output, and Occupation Forecasts." June 2004, UCED 2004/05-13. <br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas R., Gaylene Nevers, Elizabeth Fadali, and Joan Wright. "Industrial Targeting for Economic Development, City of Sparks." June 2004, UCED 2004/05-14. <br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas R. and Joan Wright. "Estimating Economic Impacts of Cattle Ranching and Farming on the White Pine County Economy." October 2004, UCED 2004/05-15 <br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas R. and Brian Bonnenfant. "Estimated Employment Impacts of Airports in Douglas County and Carson City", December 2004, UCED 2004/05-19.<br /> <br /> Henry, Mark, Haizhen Li and David Barkley. 2004. "Human Capital and Rural Growth in The Southern United States: 1970-2000." Review of Regional Studies. Volume 34, Winter 2004.<br /> <br /> Irwin, Elena G. and Nancy E. Bockstael (2004). Land Use Externalities, Growth Management Policies, and Urban Sprawl. Regional Science and Urban Economics, 34(6): 705-25.<br /> <br /> Johnson, Thomas G. 2005. What would an ideal rural land use policy look like?. Chapter 20, in Goetz et al. (eds.) Land Use Problems and Conflicts . Routledge, London. Forthcoming.<br /> <br /> Johnson, Thomas G. and James K. Scott. 2004. A Comprehensive Approach to the Assessment of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Projects, Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting, and Financial Management. <br /> <br /> Johnson, Thomas G. 2004. "Economic Development Indicators: Measuring How Rural Communities are Changed by Economic Development Programs," Washington, DC, October. <br /> <br /> Johnson, Thomas G. 2004. "An Overview of American Rural Life," Paper presented to Making Agriculture Productive and Profitable, American Farm Bureau, Dallas Texas, March.<br /> <br /> Johnson, Thomas G. "Economic Opportunity Analysis: A Case Study," Paper presented at the Industry Targeting Workshop, Orlando, Florida, 12-02-2004. <br /> <br /> Johnson, Thomas G. "Economic Trends in Rural America," Presentation to the Rural Policy Forum, Little Rock, Arkansas, 08-14-2004. <br /> <br /> Johnson, Thomas G. 2004. "The Rural Economy in a Changed World," Presentation to the Legislative Rural Policy Academy, Salt Lake City, Utah, July. <br /> <br /> Johnson, Thomas G. 2004. "Quality of Life Issues in Rural America," Taking the Pulse of Rural America, Tucson, Arizona, January. <br /> <br /> Kay, David and Joe Francis, 2004. "Fiscal Conditions in New York Cities: Trends and Structural Influences." Southern Regional Science Association. New Orleans, LA. March 11-13, 2004.<br /> <br /> Leistritz, F. Larry, Dean A. Bangsund, and Nancy M. Hodur. 2003. "Agricultural and Recreational Impacts of the Conservation Reserve Program in Rural North Dakota," paper presented at 42nd Annual Meeting of Western Regional Science Association, Tucson, AZ, Febr. 26-March 1.<br /> <br /> Lobao, Linda and David S. Kraybill (2005, accepted). The Emerging Roles of County Governments in Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Areas: Findings from a National Survey. Economic Development Quarterly.<br /> <br /> Miller, Kathleen and Bruce Weber, How Do Persistent Poverty Dynamics and Demographics Vary Across the Rural-Urban Continuum, Measuring Rural Diversity Series Vol. 1 (1), Southern Rural Development Center, Mississippi State University, January 2004. http://srdc.msstate.edu/measuring/series/miller_weber.pdf <br /> <br /> Morris, Douglas E. and Cynthia L. Belowski, Land Use Change Taxes: The Changing Relation to Abated Property Taxes. Abstract, Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Vol. 32, No. 2 (October, 2003).<br /> <br /> <br /> Morrow-Jones, Hazel, Elena G. Irwin and Brian Roe (2004). Consumer Preferences for Neotraditional Neighborhood Characteristics. Housing Policy Debate, 15(1): 171-202.<br /> <br /> Mugera, A.W. 2004. Managing human resources on six dairy farms in Michigan: A resource-based perspective. Plan B Research Paper. Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University.<br /> <br /> Nevers, Gaylene and Thomas R. Harris. "Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for Elko County: Part III: Economic Base and Change", March 2004, UCED 2003/04-32. <br /> <br /> Nevers, Gaylene, Thomas R. Harris, and Elizabeth Fadali. "Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for Humboldt County: Part III: Economic Base and Change", March 2004, UCED 2003/04-36.<br /> <br /> Nevers, Gaylene, Thomas R. Harris, and Elizabeth Fadali. "Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for Lander County: Part III: Economic Base and Change." March 2004, UCED 2003/04-37. <br /> <br /> Nevers, Gaylene, Thomas R. Harris, and Elizabeth Fadali. "Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for White Pine County: Part III: Economic Base and Change", March 2004, UCED 2003/04-38.<br /> <br /> Niell, Rebecca and Thomas R. Harris. "Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for Elko County: Part II: Changing Business Counts fro 1998 to 2001", January 2004, UCED 2003/04-27.<br /> <br /> Niell, Rebecca and Thomas R. Harris. "Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for White Pine County: Part II: Changing Business Counts fro 1998 to 2001". April 2004, UCED 2004/05-03. <br /> <br /> <br /> Orr, Samuel J. and Thomas G. Johnson and Daniel C. Badger. 2004. Biopower Decision Tools Project Report Development Guide. Community Policy Analysis Center Report R-2004-13. September. <br /> <br /> Pagoulatos, A., Goetz, S. J., Debertin, D. L., and Johanssen, T. 2004. Interactions Between Economic Growth and Environmental Quality in U.S. Counties," Growth and Change, 35(1): 90-108. <br /> <br /> Pfeffer, Max, Joe Francis and Zev Ross, 2004. "Urbanization and Land Use Contestation at the Rural/Urban Fringe." Population Change and Rural Society Conference, Economic Research Service, USDA. Washington, D.C. January 29-30, 2004.<br /> <br /> Rainey, Daniel V., Kenneth L. Robinson, Ivye Allen, and Ralph D. Christy. 2004. "Essential Public and Private Capital for Sustainable Community Development." In Achieving Sustainable Communities in a Global Economy. Ralph D. Christy, editor. P. 159-178. World Scientific Publishers.<br /> <br /> Rainey, Daniel V. and Olga I. Murova. 2003. "Arkansas Public School Districts Efficiency Estimation: Is Restructuring Necessary," Educational Research and Policy Studies Journal. Vol. 3(4): 1-22.<br /> <br /> Rainey, Daniel V., and Olga I. Murova. 2004. "Factors Influencing Education Achievement". Applied Economics. Vol. 2404. <br /> <br /> Rainey, Daniel V., and Olga I. Murova, 2004. "Data Envelopment Analysis of Efficiency Estimation in Public Schools", Empirical Economic Letters. Vol. <br /> <br /> Renkow, Mitch. 2004. "Economic Impacts of Residential Development: Lessons from Chatham County." NC State Economist (November).<br /> <br /> Renkow, Mitch. 2004. "Population, Employment, and Mobility In The Rural South." SRDC Policy Series Paper No. 3, Southern Rural Development Center, Mississippi State, MS.<br /> <br /> Renkow, Mitch. 2004. "Population Growth in the Worker Mobility in the South: Implications for Smart Growth." Southern Perspectives 7(4): 4-5.<br /> <br /> Rightmyre, Vickie and Darryl Chatman and Thomas G. Johnson. 2004. Rural Entrepreneurship Initiative: Survey Results for Albany, Missouri. Community Policy Analysis Center Report R-2004-01. August. (A total of 12 reports for 12 different communities).<br /> <br /> Rightmyre, Vickie and Darryl Chatman and Thomas G. Johnson. 2005. Growing Entrepreneurs From the Ground Up: A Community-Based Approach to Growing Your Own Businesses. Missouri Rural Development Partners. February. http://www.cpac.missouri.edu/REI/REIGuidebook_Cover1.pdf<br /> <br /> Roe, Brian, Elena G. Irwin, and Hazel A. Morrow-Jones (2004). Estimating the Benefits of Farmland Preservation to Homeowners: Results of a Conjoint Analysis of Housing Choice. Land Economics, 80: 55-75. (senior authorship joint between Roe and Irwin) <br /> <br /> Rupasingha, A. and Goetz, S. J. 2004. County Amenities and Migration. Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, 33(2): 198-207.<br /> <br /> Salin, Victoria, Eunice Patron, Judith I. Stallmann. "Rainy Day Funds for Municipalities Estimated with Value at Risk." North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International. Seattle, Washington. November 2004.<br /> <br /> Scribner, Kevin P. The Economic Impact of Monadnock Community Hospital. Master of Science Directed Research. University of New Hampshire, Department of Resource Economics and Development, Durham, May 2004, 53pp.<br /> <br /> Shields, Martin, Judith I. Stallmann and Steven C. Deller. "The Economic and Fiscal Impacts of the Elderly on a Small Rural Region." Journal of the Community Development Society. 34(1):85-106. 2003<br /> <br /> Stallmann, Judith I. "Evaluating Tax Systems." Missouri Legislative Academy, Report 17-2004. March, 2004. Legislative Brief<br /> http://www.truman.missouri.edu/ipp/mla/publications/htmldocs/17-2004evaluatingtaxsystems.htm<br /> <br /> Stallmann, Judith I. "Understanding Missouri's Job Loss." Invited presentation. Missouri Community Development Society. Jefferson City, Missouri. January, 2003. This was presented in several other venues also. <br /> <br /> Stallmann, Judith I. "Spatial Distribution of the Streamlined Sales and Use Taxes Impacts." Southern Regional Science Association. New Orleans, Louisiana. March, 2004.<br /> <br /> Stallmann, Judith I. Evaluation of Major State Taxes in Missouri. Missouri Legislative Academy, Report 31-2004. May, 2004 Legislative Brief<br /> http://www.truman.missouri.edu/ipp/mla/publications/htmldocs/31-2004judiths.htm<br /> <br /> Swaminathan, H. and Findeis, J. L. 2004. Poverty Interventions and Poverty in Rural America. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 86(5): 1289-1296.<br /> <br /> Trauth, Kathleen M. and Thomas G. Johnson, Christine M. Poulos, Vickie M. Rightmyre, D. Scott Adams, Guohua Li and Hao Wang. 2004. Identification and Development of User Requirements to Support Robust Corridor Investment Models. Midwest Transportation Consortium. September.<br /> <br /> Thilmany, D. and P. Watson. The Increasing Role of Direct Marketing and Farmers Markets for Western US Producers. Western Economics Forum 3(December 2004)19-25.<br /> <br /> Thilmany, D. Direct Food Marketing to Restaurants through Existing Farmers Market Alliances: The Case of Colorado Crop to Cuisine. Review of Agricultural Economics. 26(September 2004) 404-17.<br /> <br /> Thilmany, D. Agricultural Workers Trends and Issues in the Mountain West. 2004 Journal of American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers. Summer 2004. pp 49-56.<br /> <br /> Thilmany, D. and E. Garner. Agricultural Statistics. Invited chapter for Encyclopedia of Social Measurement. Kimberly Kempf-Leonard, Editor-in-Chief. Academic Press. November 2004. pp. 53-58.<br /> <br /> Thilmany, D. 2004. "American Farmland Trust and Colorado State University. A Curriculum for Niche Beef Marketing and Production." (Major contributor with Wendy Umberger, Amanda Ziehl, Tom Field, John Scanga and Martha Sullins). <br /> <br /> Thilmany, D. 2004. "Golf in Colorado: An Independent Study of the 2002 Economic Impact and Environmental Aspects of Golf in Colorado. Report to the Colorado Golf Association." (with S. Davies, P. Watson, Peter Elzi, Ned Prosser and Amanda Cramer).<br /> <br /> Thilmany, D. Colorado Homestead Ranches: A Business Plan Overview and Market Analysis. Report to Colorado Homestead Ranches and USDA Rural Development Value Added Grant. December 2004 (with Josh Wilson, Amanda Ziehl, Ed Sparling and Wendy Umberger).<br /> <br /> Thilmany, D. 2004. "Colorado Institute of Public Policy. Bio-Pharming in Colorado: A Guide to Issues for Making Informed Choices." Working Committee Member and Major Contributor.<br /> <br /> Ulimwengu, John and David S. Kraybill (2004). Poverty Over Time and Location: An Examination of Metro-Nonmetro Differences. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 86(5): 1282-1288. <br /> <br /> Wang, Q. 2004. Essays on Welfare Use, the Wage Gap and Unemployment Transitions in the United States. Ph.D. Dissertation, University Park: The Pennsylvania State University. 300 pp<br /> <br /> Weber, Bruce, Mark Edwards and Greg Duncan, "Single Mother Work and Poverty Under Welfare Reform: Are Policy Impacts Different In Rural Areas?" Eastern Economic Journal, 30(1):31-51, Winter 2004 <br /> <br /> Weber, Bruce and Leif Jensen, Poverty and Place: A Critical Review of Rural Poverty Literature Working Paper 04-03, RUPRI Rural Poverty Research Center, Corvallis OR, June 2004 http://rupri.org/rprc/wp0403.pdf <br /> <br /> Wright, Joan and Thomas R. Harris. "Socioeconomic Profile for the Battle Mountain and Austin Study Area", March 2004, UCED 2003/04-34.<br /> <br /> Wright, Joan, Thomas R. Harris, Buddy Borden, and Jim Lopez. "Socioeconomic Profile for City of Elko Study Area and Rest of Elko County Study Area." March 2004, UCED 2003/04-35. <br /> <br /> Wright, Joan, Thomas R. Harris, and Bob Shriver. "The Economic Contribution of Military Installations to the State of Nevada Economy." December 2004, UCED 2004/05-17. <br /> <br /> Yeo, JunHo and D. Holland. 2004. Economic Growth in Washington: An Examination of Migration Response and a Test of Model Accuracy. International Regional Science Review, 27(2):205-237, 2004.<br /> <br />

Impact Statements

1. Targeted marketing analyses has specifically impacted about $1 million in marketing activity. The total impact is more far-reaching, as numerous other groups use Colorado Homestead Ranchs (CHR&lsquo;s) experience and marketing lessons and the curriculum from the Niche Beef workshops to craft their own niche marketing activities. CHR&lsquo;s sales have grown by 50% per year, sales for other producers who sell through their retail outlet has been enhanced and CHR recently purchased a processing plant.
2. The Kalambokidis-Reschovsky paper has been accepted for publication in the Jan/Feb issue of Challenge: The Magazine of Economic Affairs. The article will inform federal policymakers on the impacts of their fiscal choices on the state and local governments. And it serves as a warning to state and local governments that, absent action to address their structural fiscal imbalances, budget crises are likely to become an annual occurrence.
3. An impact of the project includes increased economic information for national, state, and local decision makers concerning the effects of economic development initiatives in rural communities. Specifically, this information can be useful when decisions are made regarding alternative uses of state and local resources to support development efforts.
4. Policymakers want to know what policies reduce poverty and whether to tailor policies to address the needs of the rural poor. As policymakers have gotten access to NE-1011 research through publications, a national public radio interview, and presentations at government and professional conferences, it has helped shape policy discussions of reauthorization of welfare reform and of the Workforce Investment Act.
5. An impact of the project includes increased economic information for national, state, and local decision makers concerning the effects of alternative land management options on rural economies. The findings of this study are being used by Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) and his staff as background for their "Open Fields" Initiative.
6. The Boone County Economic Development Corporation in Missouri is using information developed by NE-1011 researchers to show employers the high quality potential labor force of the region.
7. Research on the economics of small communities led to a media interview and was quoted in: Blake Hurst. "In Praise of Small Lives Well Lived in Small Places. The American Enterprise. The magazine circulates to a national audience of 25,000 subscribers and newsstand buyers, including hundreds of Fortune 500 executives and approximately 1,500 national media figures. It is also received by every U.S. Senator, House member, and Governor and many Congressional and Administration staffers.

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Report Information

Participants

See attached meeting minutes.

Brief Summary of Minutes

At the annual meeting, general business was quickly conducted, including acknowledgements, approval of previous minutes, elections and plans for future meetings. Most of the meeting time was spent discussing new business, including plans to propose a new multistate project. The discussion was framed in terms of the current four project objectives. Participants discussed new research ideas and extensions of work ongoing or completed as part of this project. Opportunities for regional collaboration, learning from other states and regional projects, and cross-state themes and topics were explored. A number of suggestions for new project objectives were also discussed. A proposal was made to focus on two overall objectives: understanding rural economic change and policies that affect change in rural communities. Four themes will be developed within the two objectives: labor markets, industry, community development and quality of life, and governance. Theme leaders were chosen and each leader will draft a section of the new proposal. Participants identified which theme(s) they will work on.

Two research paper sessions were also held in which six research papers were presented and formally discussed. The topics included: spatial distribution of farm payments and farm structure, economic benefits of highway investment, innovative activity in rural areas, worker retention and wage progression in the rural health care sector, decomposition of sources of changes in U.S. salaries and wages, and rural brain drain. Research papers presented in related sessions included topics such as job satisfaction in horticulture, local revenue growth restrictions, amenities and migration, and community development indicators.


Detailed meeting minutes are attached.

Accomplishments

Objective 1: To better understand the emerging opportunities and threats to the economic structure of non-metropolitan communities arising from forces that change the size or structure of rural markets. We focus on electronic commerce, financial liberalization, and health care.<br /> <br /> Research focused on both farm and off-farm structural changes in rural economies. For example, a number of researchers focused on value-added agriculture. One study analyzed the economic importance of value-added agriculture in terms of employment in rural economies and the changes over time and space with implications with respect to value-added agriculture's use as an economic growth strategy. This study examined regional differences and changes in value-added agriculture employment for regions of the country using traditional regional economic and econometric techniques.<br /> <br /> Another effort focused on testing a new model (developed in previous years in conjunction with the NE 1011 project) of the location choices and input market areas of agro-industrial plants, establishments that add value to agriculture. The hypotheses identified included that these kinds of plants will concentrate or co-locate when the cost of transporting one unit of the processed product relative to the costs of transporting enough units of inputs to produce one unit of output are high, and will disperse otherwise. The model was tested using data on seven agro-industries at the NAICS six-digit level of disaggregation that have at least one ubiquitously supplied farm product input (corn, wheat, barley, corn, soybeans, sugar beets, or milk) and which span the full range of agro-industry types "supply-oriented," "footloose," or "demand-oriented." The statistical analysis of the model provided significant evidence in support of the hypotheses implied by the new model of agro-industrial plant location. In the U.S. these types of plants systematically display location patterns that are concentrated, co-located, or dispersed, depending on relative transport costs.<br /> <br /> This research is the first direct test of establishment location theory, and it has significant impact potential to help guide rural development policy. Existing empirical models of establishment location are of the "hedonic" type, in which existing plants are assumed to be on a site because of the characteristics of the site. The new research has made it clear why most (97%) of the establishments engaged in off-farm "value-added agriculture" in the U.S. are in cities and urban areas, not in rural places. <br /> <br /> Work continues on direct marketing and local food systems, focusing on their connections to increasing value-added activities by farmers and ranchers, as well as analyzing consumer interest in Colorado food products. The primary focus recently has been on natural meat marketing strategies based on consumer segmentation, agritourism, and studies of how different agricultural portfolios may affect the financial performance of Western US counties. An economic impact analysis of Colorado's wine industry, including tourism and marketing aspects, was initiated. Research for the wine industry will be used to support continuance of the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board, guide future tourism promotion efforts by the industry and Western slope communities and motivate discussions with the Colorado tourism development Board to secure funding for agricultural-based tourism enterprises.<br /> <br /> CSU researchers are also finishing up a series of articles and book on the economics of animal disease,which looks at economy wide effects of animal disease management, potential outbreaks and policies governing these matters. Participation on a Farm Foundation Future of Animal Agriculture project in this area may lead to further research in the future. Animal health economic impact work has a more indirect impact on rural community development, but given the large dependence of many Colorado counties on livestock industries, understanding potential outcomes from outbreaks is essential.<br /> <br /> Research on forest product processing, a value-added industry that is important to rural communities in many states, pursued two broad goals. One was to determine what markets Pennsylvania hardwood processors currently access, how these processors see their markets changing, and how they view their future. The second objective was to determine the work force needs of the industry if it is to respond to the increasingly competitive environment and become more productive and efficient. A survey of hardwood processing firms in Pennsylvania and surrounding states was undertaken. Eighty-eight percent of hardwood processors indicated that they had made changes in what they produced. The main reasons for changes was demand, output-related reasons, actions by businesses to increase the supply of their products, and changes in prices of raw material, purchase of new equipment or machinery, and finding labor. Geographic markets have changed as a result of business climate change, population shift, new construction, and plant closing. Imports and foreign competition, including specific mention of China, made up 12.7 percent of the responses to why geographic markets had changed, while an equal percentage of responses mentioned domestic competition, including Amish and other specifically-mentioned competition. Overall, 76 percent of respondents had invested in new technology in the last five years. Investment in new technology required retraining in the areas of software or computer training, procedures, safety, and machine specific training for about 60 percent of all businesses. The results are to be used by state legislature and regional workforce investment boards to help determine workforce training programs in wood products cluster.<br /> <br /> With respect to land use, work continued on the effects of farmland conversion, with a focus on explaining the change in cropland. The relative overall stability was compared with the changes occurring within metropolitan versus non-metropolitan areas. A USDA/ERS policy brief was submitted for posting on the ERS website, summarizing this work on farmland change across the US for the period 1949-1997. <br /> <br /> Work also focused on the development of a GIS-based interactive marketing tool which farmers could use to better define markets for their products. With respect to the State of New York, this tool permits interactive mapping of various demographic and psychographic information that the producer feels is important to potential customers for his product(s). Early testing of the systems has yielded positive and encouraging results. The tool will be finished in 2006 and deployed more widely. It is hoped that this marketing tool can help increase farmer profits. The marketing tool for farmers has been demonstrated to representatives of the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, to Cooperative Extension agents, members of the Direct Marketing Association of New York and other interested groups. <br /> <br /> One of the emerging opportunities for farm-led rural economic development is the biofuel industry. An analysis was completed of industrial demand for pinion-juniper biomass to support rural bio-fuel industry in northeastern Nevada. This study was presented to U.S. Forest Service. The state-level locational factors for biotechnology firms was also investigated using an instrumental variable econometric estimation technique. A cluster economic development and feasibility analysis was also completed for a national wild horse and burro interpretative center in Lyon County, Nevada. The analysis investigated linkages of the national center into the Reno Tourism Industry Cluster and also estimated factors to increase adoption rates of wild horses. The study was presented to Lyon County Commissioners and to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The City of Sparks, Nevada has used the cluster industrial targeting study in its economic development program.<br /> <br /> With respect to rural health care, researchers concluded a health sector impact analysis which has been used by rural hospitals in Nevada considering Critical Access hospital (CAH) designation. They also completed a feasibility analysis a possible kidney dialysis center in Humboldt County, Nevada. <br /> <br /> Two critical dimensions of how rural communities define their economic viability were investigated: the rural health network and the rural public education network. Documented evidence from the rural health study reinforces the perception that rural health markets in counties dominated by federal lands are less economically viable and offer a less sophisticated mix of health care services--controlling for other factors relevant in a rural context. This is critical to federal land managers and policymakers who continue to underinvest in maintaining critical social networks that will ensure the viability of rural communities. Research on the public education network is still in the formative stages but much of the preliminary work to document the diversity of public education models used in a rural context has been completed. This work has already impacted the dialog of federal policymakers who work in states and represent the interests of states where federal lands dominate the landscape. <br /> <br /> With respect to e-commerce, a study was completed on the Internet and rural economies. The study examined the economics of communication and information service delivery and on-line economic activities such as e-commerce. An NE 1011 researcher was an invited to a Chicago Federal Reserve Bank conference where he spoke about modern telecommunications in rural areas. He also participated in the development of a survey of 18,000 farms that addresses how much economic activity (purchases and sales) farm operators conduct through the Internet. He contributed to a new "briefing room" website about rural telecommunications (see http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/telecom/).<br /> <br /> <br /> Objective 2: To determine the root causes of changes in rural labor markets, the employment and demographic growth that are likely to occur in the future, and the degree to which these factors are modified by workforce development policies. <br /> <br /> With growing farm sizes, retaining and motivating employees has become increasingly important in U.S. agriculture. One factor considered paramount in employee retention and motivation is job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is likely the most studied work-related attitude (in all industries), and is assumed to influence a variety of behaviors that impact productivity. The job satisfaction of agricultural employees was analyzed using Herzberg's theory, which is broadly employed in management practice of large organizations. Typically, job satisfaction is modeled as a set of components. Components of job satisfaction empirically relevant to horticultural employees were family business values, achievement, recognition, work itself, involvement, personal life, interpersonal relationships, job security, supervision, working conditions, organization, safety, compensation, and information. An in-depth analysis of the interviews with supervisory personnel is currently under way.<br /> <br /> An analysis of data from surveys and interviews in nine North Dakota communities was completed. Jobs associated with new employers were generally taken by persons already living in the area. Thus, new employers served to stabilize the local economy and population, rather than stimulating substantial in-migration. The results were summarized in an article that has been published in Great Plains Research. The impact of the project includes increased economic information for national, state, and local decision makers concerning the effects of economic development initiatives in rural communities. Specifically, this information can be useful when decisions are made regarding alternative uses of state and local resources to support development efforts. <br /> <br /> NE 1011 researchers collaborated on an examination of a number of factors thought to be related to hunger and poverty in Oregon and nationally, using both Oregon and national data. Forty years ago in a Quarterly Journal of Economics article entitled "Trickling Down: The Relationship Between Economic Growth and the Extent of Poverty Among American Families", W. Locke Anderson concluded that for some families (including farm families and families headed by a woman) aggregate income growth "simply does not trickle down directly enough to be counted upon to reduce poverty". This "trickle down" hypothesis spawned a debate about the effects of job and income growth on poverty at the national, state and local levels. With better data and more sophisticated econometric techniques, NE 1011 researchers have concluded that, in some places and under some conditions, local job growth may in fact benefit low income workers and reduce poverty rates, and that this effect may be stronger in urban areas. Their research findings suggest that job growth speeds poverty reduction nationally, and that high housing costs are positively related to food insecurity among low-income families in Oregon. <br /> <br /> Even more compellingly, the realities of poverty (that most poor adults work) and policy (that antipoverty policy is becoming more work-oriented, community-context-dependent, and tailored to community needs by local governments and nongovernmental intermediaries) make strengthening community capacity and local institutions increasingly important in poverty reduction efforts. The higher incidence of working poverty in rural America and the evidence that current antipoverty policies are less effective in rural areas give added urgency to the task of crafting community-based policies that strengthen community capacity and local institutions and that lead to investments that increase labor demand and enhance worker productivity in rural places. <br /> <br /> An increasingly important component of the nation's antipoverty policy is child care assistance, which provides support to low-income working families for whom child care costs might otherwise consume a sizeable portion of the family budget. NE 1011 researchers tracked the employment and earnings of families who received child care assistance and found average earnings gains of about $2,000 over a three-year period. The pattern of employment by industry stayed fairly constant over the three years, with differences in industry patterns in rural versus urban counties. Parents working in or moving into jobs in the health care sector had some of the highest average earnings increases. A second study examined the relationship between public expenditures on child care assistance and the average price of child care in Minnesota counties. <br /> <br /> The first phase of research on the changing structure of the rural economy was completed. This research extended the procedure developed by NE 1011 researchers of decomposing the change in real wages over time into the positive and negative components of the wage and industry effects. The new approach identifies the sectors of the economy that are systematically (as opposed to randomly) responsible for good and bad wages and jobs. The new approach has been applied to the Mountain West region. It is used to measure the extent to which national economic trends in trade and productivity appear in this (or any other) region by sector. In addition, that research is complemented with an analysis of inequality which measures whether wages across sectors are converging or not. The findings include that average real wages in the U.S. increased six percent between 1978 and 1998. The eleven percent growth in wages in professional service sectors along with the one percent wage divergence combine to indicate that the Romer and Lucas productivity theory predominated the U.S. economy during this period. The minus four percent decrease in wages from the declining share of employment in the goods manufacturing sector along with a minus one percent decline in wage inequality are consistent with the Heckscher-Ohlin trade theory and represents a secondary source of change. This information can help set priorities for targeted research and development programs. By using both the wage inequality and the wage index information, various theories of economic development can be tested. These tests can help suggest future successful strategies based on past performance. <br /> <br /> Research was also conducted to determine the extent to which county employment growth divided between current residents, in-migrants, and (non-resident) commuters. Researchers at North Carolina State and the University of Minnesota employed a labor market model that was developed in the preceding Hatch Project. The model explicitly accounts for movements of workers across county lines - in conjunction with labor market adjustments that occur within a county - when an exogenous labor demand shock takes place. The model was estimated using 1990 and 2000 county-level data for a number of different states in the south and midwest. Estimation results are consistent with a priori expectations concerning the impact of relative wages, relative housing prices and employment shocks on commuting and unemployment. <br /> <br /> In the southern region (13 states), the findings show that between 60 and 70 percent of local labor market adjustment to new employment opportunities during the 1990s was accounted for by changes in commuting patterns, and the remainder (30 to 40 percent) was accounted for by labor force growth (primarily taking the form of in-migration). It is concluded from this that the fiscal impacts of employment growth associated with changes in residential demands for publicly provided services and residential provision of property tax revenues will be substantially smaller than is commonly supposed. Significant rural-urban differences were also found to exist. A relatively greater fraction of new jobs in metro counties are filled by (non-resident) in-commuters than is the case for rural counties, while employment growth in rural counties appears to be accommodated to a relatively greater degree by reductions in out-commuting. Evidence is also presented indicating that labor force growth (and, by extension, population growth and residential development) in rural counties is substantially more sensitive to employment growth in nearby counties than is the case for urban counties. Thus, while employment growth in rural counties may lead to smaller fiscal impacts than is often supposed, employment growth in nearby counties represents an important countervailing factor that also tends to be overlooked in economic and fiscal impact analyses. These results have been published in an academic journal and additionally, used to inform an article on the local economic impacts of of Wal-Mart in the NC State Economist.<br /> <br /> NE 1011 research has continued on how to identify clusters of innovation or regional innovation systems ("RIS") in the 13 southern states. NE 1011 researchers at Clemson measured innovative capacity and activity in metro areas using eighteen indicators. Southern metro areas were grouped into six categories (Outliers, High, College towns, Medium, Below Average, and Low) based on a cluster analysis of metro innovation characteristics. They found that the RIS in the South (the Outlier, High, and College Town groupings) exhibited significantly more rapid growth (rates) in employment, population and earnings per worker than the remaining metro groups. Innovative activity in metro areas had little impact on economic development in nearby nonmetro counties. Neither the growth rates of earnings nor employment in nonmetro counties was strongly associated with proximity to an RIS. In addition, tests of spatial correlation found little association between 1990-99 patent activity in metro areas (a proxy for innovation) and the level of patent activity in proximate nonmetro counties. These research findings indicate that innovative activity had limited spatial spillovers, and nonmetro counties cannot rely on innovation in nearby metro areas to stimulate nonmetro growth.<br /> <br /> The impact of this research is that it is being used to help metropolitan areas identify gaps or shortcomings in their innovative capacity or environment. The elimination of shortcomings will increase the competitiveness of South Carolina metropolitan areas for innovative activity and the resulting new business spin-offs. The research on regional innovation systems was presented to the public at a conference titled "A Conversation on the South Carolina Economy" sponsored by the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness. <br /> <br /> <br /> Objective 3: To understand the effects of public policy on rural areas and rural industries.<br /> <br /> A fiscal impact model, using techniques developed through the collaboration with numerous NE 1011 members across the country, was prepared for counties in their own state. The model relies on both cross-sectional and time-series data. The county-level fiscal impact model has been applied to estimate the impacts from exogenous changes on county fiscal accounts. The fiscal model is currently being expanded to incorporate school district and city fiscal impacts. <br /> <br /> A data base was compiled using the 2002 Census of Governments that compares all 50 states on major state and local taxes and expenditures. <br /> <br /> The Missouri Municipal League and the Missouri Association of Counties contracted with NE 1011 researchers to estimate the impacts of the August, 2004, sales tax holiday on state and local sales tax revenues. To make reporting easier for merchants, the sales information during the holiday is not reported separately to the state, so it must be estimated. NE 1011 researchers estimated the impact on state and local sales tax revenues of the 2004 sales tax holiday. It is estimated that tax revenues fell $18 million that weekend.The associations used the study during the legislative debate on whether to renew the holiday and the conditions for participation by local governments. The study of the sales tax holiday generated press interviews and newspaper articles. <br /> <br /> Whether a new residential development is a contributor to or a drain upon the local government's budget depends on the development's net fiscal impact - the difference between the revenues flowing from the development and the costs of providing services to new residents. NE 1011 researchers determined the net fiscal impact of residential development in two Minnesota regions. The study concluded that changing the location and density of new residential development within a region changes the impact of the development on local governments' budgets. In addition, development that spans jurisdictions can have differing effects on the budgets of those jurisdictions. <br /> <br /> Researchers also analyzed the effects of a revenue-neutral replacement of the current Minnesota Corporate Franchise Tax (CFT) and minimum fee with a consumption-type Business Activities Tax (BAT) on all firms doing business in Minnesota for the Legislative Coordinating Commission. The BAT is a tax on the value-added of all firms, regardless of organizational form, with full expensing for purchases of depreciable capital assets. The study estimated that replacing 1999 corporate franchise tax and minimum fee revenues with a broad-based BAT on all firms doing business in Minnesota would have required a BAT rate of 0.71 percent. The study also found that a BAT that is revenue-neutral for corporations only would require a rate on those taxpayers of 1.58%, and allowing each taxpayer to exempt the first $100,000 of its BAT base is estimated to raise the required revenue-neutral BAT rate to 0.86%. <br /> <br /> Concerning local public finance, in particular local bond issues, NE 1011 researchers were asked to review the methodology of a study by the State Auditor on local practices for issuing bonds. The study showed that by not auctioning their bonds, local governments are paying .25 to .5% points more interest. The potential impact is that local governments may lower their interest rates on bond issues if they change the practices under which they issue bonds.<br /> <br /> <br /> Objective 4: To identify community characteristics associated with viable and healthy rural communities and investigate policy alternatives to enhance these characteristics.<br /> <br /> In some areas of the country, rural decline is the problem. In others, the challenge for rural communities is how to ensure their quality of life and sustain growth. For example, many counties in North Carolina are experiencing unprecedented rates of residential and commercial development. This is particularly true of counties located in and around fast-growing urban centers. The willingness of workers to commute ever greater distances has meant that more and more urban workers are living ever farther from where they work. This has intensified pressures to convert the open spaces, forest, and farm land of nearby rural counties to higher density residential and commercial land uses. This phenomenon bears significant consequences for the county governments that provide - and must pay for - essential public services needed to support that growth. <br /> <br /> An important element of public debate over appropriate land use policies is whether or not increased local government expenditures on community services needed to accommodate residential and commercial development exceed the contribution of that development to the local revenue base. Research by NE 1011 members has quantified the contribution to local government revenues of various types of land uses (residential, commercial/industrial, and agricultural), and the demands on local government financial resources of those same land uses. These "snapshots" of current revenues and expenditures allow an assessment of the costs and benefits of different land uses from the perspective of local government finance. Studies have revealed the following strong tendencies:<br /> <br /> (1) The value of public services provided to residential land uses far exceed the property taxes and other revenues that they contribute to the county budget. This finding contrasts with claims that are sometimes made that residential development is a boon to county finances due to its expansion of the property tax base. It would appear that the very large footprint of education and human services expenditures in the overall county budget plays a dominant role in explaining this phenomenon. <br /> <br /> (2) The contribution of revenues from commercial and industrial land uses far exceeds the value of services that those land uses receive from county coffers. Essentially, this means that the business sector subsidizes the residential sector from the perspective of local public finance.<br /> <br /> (3) Despite being taxed on the basis of use value (as opposed to market value), farm and forest land uses contribute more in tax revenues than they get back in publicly provided services. <br /> <br /> It is important to bear in mind that there is nothing sacred about an exact balance between revenues and expenditures associated with a particular land use, even when balancing the local budget is an overriding priority. Indeed, one of the primary functions of a local government is to redistribute local financial resources such that services desired by citizens are supplied, even when those services cannot pay for themselves. Determining the optimal distribution of those resources is a public policy issue to be resolved in the political arena. <br /> <br /> A semi-survey input-output model of Eureka County, Nevada, was completed and results presented to Eureka County Commissioners. The study was used by Eureka County for rangeland fire mitigation estimates. Also, researchers found substantial impacts of evasive weeds on a recreational county. If efforts are not taken to eradicate these evasive weeds, rural counties will realize losses in economic activity due to lower tourism.<br /> <br /> The economic and fiscal impact model developed by a collaboration of NE 1011 researchers in many states has recently been applied to motivate public support of an innovative new rural industry in Texas. The model was used to estimate the net fiscal benefits of a project and compare them to the incentives requested by the firm. In the case of a wind electrical generation project, the net fiscal benefits appeared much larger than the incentives requested. The study was accepted by both the community and company and used in the original negotiation for incentives and also in the re-negotiation. The incentives were offered to the firm. The NE 1011 researchers also did a case study to determine if the incentives were successful and why. The conclusion is that the package was successful because the community wrote performance measures into the contract and enforced them when the measures were not met. Another factor was the executive director of the local chamber who worked to find a win-win solution for the firm and the community when the package was re-negotiated. <br /> <br /> That research has been very influential in supporting this kind of economic development. Several additional wind farms have been built and all transmission lines to the area are at capacity. Plans are in the works to build more transmission lines and more wind farms. The wind farms have created well paying repair jobs in the region.<br /> <br /> Taking a broad view, rural sociologists in NE 1011 focused on understanding how the economic policies of the European economic union (EU) has affected economic development across Europe. The objective of this wider perspective was to gain an understanding of how regional fiscal policies of a different nature than those of New York State, for example, affect the dependent subunits. In the EU case, of course, the members are nations rather than counties. Of particular interest was whether the EU's fiscal policies have had a differential affect on (1) established members, (2) recently admitted members to the EU and (3)those countries still in process of joining the EU (pre-accession nations). Using various measures of economic development available from the World Bank, CIA Factbook, Freedom House and other sources, the researchers established the extent of the existing comparative economic development using measures like GDP per capita. The different levels of GDP/capita were modeled with spatial regression procedures, with foreign direct investment, educational level, age structure, extent of computer technology, EU policy, etc. as predictors. Spatial autocorrelation was present and adjusted for in the analysis. The results of this investigation were presented at several conferences. <br /> <br /> Work was also completed on the topic of the determinants of community development and its interface with coastal land use issues. Results show how communities can respond to coastal hazards in the face of reduced federal aid, and still maintain their recreational beach quality and their prospects for economic devolvement. The findings are based upon surveys conducted in two costal counties, one metropolitan and the other nonmetro. Between these two cases the density of development is quite different, as are the characteristics of the visitors. In both settings it was determined that two different types of coastal erosion management passed a benefit-cost test. Furthermore, it was determined that erosion management can be financed by user fees charged to the visitors. <br /> <br /> Linkages with colleagues in NE-1011 have facilitated the development of a web site, www.georgiastats.uga.edu. Users of this website can conduct a shift-share analysis of employment changes for any group of counties in the United States, for any of the years between 1990 and 2004. The site's purpose is to facilitate economic development by improving the information base available to decision makers in local government, schools and businesses. <br /> <br /> Finally, in 2005 a number of collaborating NE 1011 researchers completed phase one of a multi-state study of local social capital. To support rural development, the United States and other countries actively encourage local organizational capacity building. This project demonstrated how network analysis methods can be used to describe, measure, and analyze community capacity for self-improvement. Five research teams in four states (IA, OH, OK, and OR) and two disciplines, Economics and Sociology, used a common survey approach to collect primary data about exchanges of money, information, and political support between civic, social, public, and private entities in a total of 58 small communities (about 12 in each state). The network data was augmented with economic, demographic, fiscal, and geographic data.<br /> <br /> The NE 1011 researchers analyzed the network data by applying existing social network analysis techniques and Keystone Sector Identification techniques (developed previously by an NE 1011 member) to quantify the community network structures. This phase of analysis resulted in the finding that every community has a different network pattern. Next, they statistically analyzed the network patterns with respect to their secondary characteristics, local policy, and economic outcomes. The main research findings to date include that (i) community network structures differ with respect to size (population), (ii) no "best" structure with respect to economic outcomes was found, (iii) the new network approaches do measure social capital, and are particularly useful for distinguishing bridging from bonding social capital; and (iv) local policy choices, in particular, majority votes for local option sales taxation (LOSTs) may be related to community network characteristics.<br /> The community network analysis activity by NE 1011 researchers has collected the world's first known cross-section data on community networks, and has made it available to the research public for analysis and further basic research. It has and will continue to contribute to our ability to understand how societies can effectively organize themselves or why they may fail to organize themselves. The field of inquiry into social networks has been stymied by two problems. One, there was no cross-section data, so all community analyses were essentially one-off, "case studies" with no statistical basis for claims that such studies might be generally applicable or informative. The NE-1011 researchers have filled that critical gap by providing the cross-section survey data. Two, there is no satisfactory method for estimating networks. The existing statistical approaches rely on the assumption that the relationship between any two entities in a network is independent of the relationships between other entities. That assumption contradicts our key hypothesis that relationships are not just bilateral, but that we relate to others precisely because of their relations with third-, fourth-, and more distantly tied others. Now that we have contributed this cross-section survey data, social scientists and statisticians can begin to develop more appropriate statistical approaches for estimating networks.<br />

Publications

Barkley, David L., and Mark S. Henry. 2005. Innovative Metropolitan Areas in the South: How Competitive are South Carolina's Cities? REDRL Research Report 10-2005-01, Regional Economic Development Research Laboratory, Clemson University, Clemson, SC. <br /> <br /> Barkley, David L. and Mark S. Henry. 2005. Targeting Industry Clusters for Regional Economic Development: An Overview of the REDRL Approach. REDRL Research Report 01-2005-03, Regional Economic Development Research Laboratory, Clemson University, Clemson, SC.<br /> <br /> Barkley, David L., Mark S. Henry, and Haizhen Li. 2005. Does Human Capital Affect Rural Economic Growth? Evidence from the South. In The Role of Education in Promoting the Economic and Social Vitality of Rural America, L. J. Beaulieu and R. Gibbs, eds., Southern Rural Development Center, Mississippi State, MS.<br /> <br /> Bernell, Stephanie, Mark Edwards and Bruce Weber, "Restricted Opportunities, Unfortunate Personal Choices, Ineffective Policies? What Explains Food Insecurity in Oregon" Working Paper AREc 05-101, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Oregon State University, February 2005.<br /> <br /> Bitsch, V. 2005. Qualitative research: A grounded theory example and evaluation criteria. Journal of Agribusiness 23:75-91.<br /> <br /> Bitsch, V., Hogberg, M. 2005. Exploring horticultural employees' attitudes towards their jobs: A qualitative analysis based on Herzberg's theory of job satisfaction. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 37:659-671.<br /> <br /> Bitsch, V., Mugera, A.W. 2005. Employees: A source of competitive advantage. Michigan Dairy Review 10(1):14-17.<br /> <br /> Bond, C., C.A. Carter, and Y. H. Farzin Economic and Environmental Impacts of Adoption of Genetically Modified Rice in CA. Giannini Foundation Research Report 350, University of California, February, 2005.<br /> <br /> Davis, Elizabeth E. and NaiChia Li. Child Care Assistance and the Market for Child Care in Minnesota. Minnesota Child Care Policy Research Partnership. October 2005.<br /> <br /> Davis, Elizabeth E. and Marcie Jefferys. Still Working in Minnesta? Follow-up Study on Parents' Employment and Earnings in the Child Care Assistance Program. Minnesota Child Care Policy Research Partnership. December 2005.<br /> <br /> DeVuyst, Cheryl S., F. Larry Leistritz, and Angela Schepp. 2005. "Rural Economic Development Initiatives: Comparing Socioeconomic Impacts," Great Plains Research 15: 69-100.<br /> <br /> Ebel, Robert, and Laura Kalambokidis. State Value-Added Tax in The Encyclopedia of Taxation and Tax Policy, ed. Joseph Cordes, Jane Gravelle, and Robert Ebel, Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press (October 2005).<br /> <br /> Eiswerth, Mark E., Tim D. Darden, Wayne S. Johnson, Jeanmarie Agapoff, and Thomas R. Harris. "Input-Output Modeling, Outdoor Recreation, and the Economic Impacts of Weeds", Weed Science, 53(2005): 130-137.<br /> <br /> Evans, Garen and Judith I. Stallmann. "Chapter 11: SAFESIM: The Small Area Fiscal Estimation Simulator." in Daniel Otto, Steven Deller, and Thomas G. Johnson (eds,) Community Policy Analysis Modeling. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press. 2005.<br /> <br /> Fadali, Betsy and Thomas R. Harris, "Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for Humboldt County: Analysis of Fiscal Trends: Part V", March 2005, UCED 2004/05-24.<br /> <br /> Fadali, Betsy and Thomas R. Harris. Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for Comprehensive Economic Development strategy (CEDS) for Humboldt County: Winnemucca Study Area and Rest of Humboldt County Study Area: Part VI, March 2005, UCED 2004/05-25.<br /> <br /> Fadali, Betsy, Thomas R. Harris, Kynda Curtis, Robert Dick, and Simona Blazas. "Analysis of Potential Demands of Pinyon-Juniper Resources in Lincoln and White Pine Counties", UCED 2005/06-09, December 2005.<br /> <br /> Fadali, Elizabeth, William W. Riggs, and Thomas R. Harris. "Updated Economic Linkages in the Economy of Eureka County", UCED 2005/06-05.<br /> <br /> Francis, J. and Magri, A. 2005. A Comparison of Morans I in GeoDA and ArcGIS 9.x. Presentation to the Rural Sociological Society, Tampa, FL. August, 2005.<br /> <br /> Fuduric, Joseph A., David L. Barkley, and Mark S. Henry. 2005. Marketing Wild Caught South Carolina Shrimp: Lessons Learned From Agricultural Niche Marketing Programs. REDRL Research Report 01-2005-01, Regional Economic Development Research Laboratory, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, January. <br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas R., Jeffrey E. Englin, James R. Nelson, Lindy Widner, and Janet Lutz. "Feasibility Analysis of the Construction and operation of the Proposed National Wild Horse and Burro Interpretative Center", UCED 2005/06-07, September 2005.<br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas R. and Elizabeth Fadali. "Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for Lyon County: Part I", UCED 2005/06-02, May 2005.<br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas R., Alison Davis, Elizabeth Fadali, Gaylene Nevers, Joan Wright, Simona Balazs and Slavica Karastankovic. "Identifying the Economic Drivers and Import Substitution Opportunities for the Western Nevada Study Area with Application to the City of Sparks", UCED 2005/06-03, June 2005<br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas R. and Robert Dick. "Preliminary Analysis of Rural Business Incubators, Small Diameter Wood Supplies, and Potential for Small Diameter Wood Incubator in the State of Nevada", UCED 2005/06-04, June 2005.<br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas R. Betsy Fadali, and Jeffrey Hardcastle. "Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for Humboldt County: Current and Future Employment, Output, and Occupation Forecasts: Part IV", March 2005, UCED 2004/05-23.<br /> <br /> Harris, Thomas R., Slavica Karastankovic, and Elizabeth Fadali. "Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for Humboldt County: General Trends: Part I." March 2005, UCED 2004/05-20.<br /> <br /> Henry, Mark S., David L. Barkley, and Steven C. Deller. Scenario Development in Community Policy Analysis Models: When is a Cost Actually a Benefit? In Community Policy Analysis Modeling. Edited by T. G. Johnson, D. M. Otto, and S. C. Deller. Ames, Iowa: Blackwell Publishing, 2006.<br /> <br /> Henry, Mark S., David L. Barkley, Ferdinand Vinuya and Brian Gantt. 2005. Options For Processing Shrimp Landed in South Carolina. REDRL Research Report 01-2005-02, Regional Economic Development Research Laboratory, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, January. <br /> <br /> Henry, Mark S., Wilder N. Ferreira, and David L. Barkley. 2005. Costs and Returns Analysis for South Carolina Shrimp Trawlers, and Cost and Returns Excel Spreadsheet, REDRL Research Report 03-2005-01, Regional Economic Development Research Laboratory, Clemson University, Clemson, SC. <br /> <br /> Kalambokidis, Laura, and Robert Patton. Residential Development Impacts in Two Minnesota Regions. CURA Reporter, vol. 35, no. 2, (Spring 2005): 11-13.<br /> <br /> Kalambokidis, Laura, and Andrew Reschovsky. States' Responses to the Budget Shortfalls of 2001-04. Challenge: The Magazine of Economics Affairs 88, 1 (Jan/Feb 2005): 76-93.<br /> <br /> Kalambokidis, Laura. A Business Activities Tax for Minnesota: A Report prepared for the Legislative Coordinating Commission. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Department of Revenue (October 2005).<br /> <br /> Kalambokidis, Laura. Book review of The Property Tax, Land Use and Land Use Regulation, by Dick Netzer. Journal of Regional Science 45, 2 (May 2005): 430-432.<br /> <br /> Kress, G., P. Watson and D. Thilmany. The Economic Contributions of Colorados Wine Industry. Project report to the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board and Rocky Mountain Vintners and Viticulturalists Association. December 2005.<br /> <br /> Kriesel, W., Landry, C. and Keeler, A.G. "Coastal Erosion Management from a Community Economics Perspective: The Feasibility and Efficiency of User Fees." Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 37(2): 376-88. 2005.<br /> <br /> Magri, A and Francis, J. 2005. Evaluation of Selected Spatial Statistical Tools in ArcGIS 9.x. Presentation to the NYS GIS Conference. Rochester, NY. November, 2005.<br /> <br /> Mugera, A.W., Bitsch, V. 2005. Labor on dairy farms: A resource-based perspective with evidence from case studies. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review 8(July, 3):79-98.<br /> <br /> Nevers, Gaylene, Thomas R. Harris, and Elizabeth Fadali. "Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for Humboldt County: Economic Base and Change: Part III", March 2005, UCED 2004/05-22.<br /> <br /> Niell, Rebecca, Thomas R. Harris, Elizabeth Fadali, and Alexis Mann. "Analysis of Socio-Economic Data and Trends for Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for Humboldt County: Changing Business Counts from 1988 to 2001: Part II." March 2005, UCED 2004/05-21.<br /> <br /> Packham, John and Thomas R. Harris. "The Contributions of Hospitals to the Nevada Economy." UCED 2005/06-01, April 2005.<br /> <br /> Patron, Eunice and Judith I. Stallmann "Optional Sales Tax Holidays: Which Jurisdictions Participate?" North American Regional Science Meeting, Las Vegas, Nevada. November 10-12, 2005. <br /> <br /> Price, Shannon and Thomas R. Harris, and John Packham. "Demand for Primary Care Physicians in Gabbs, Nevada", UCED 2005/06-08, October 2005.<br /> <br /> Pritchett, J., D. Thilmany and K. Johnson. "Animal Disease Economics: A Survey of Literature and Typology of Research Approaches." International Food and Agribusiness Management Review. 8(February 2005)23-45.<br /> <br /> Renkow, Mitch. 2005. "Wal-Mart and the Local Economy." NC State Economist (November).<br /> <br /> Shields, Martin, David L. Barkley, and Mary Emery. Industry Clusters and Industry Targeting. Industry Targeting/Industry Clusters Workshop papers. The Northeast Center for Rural Development, http://www.necrd.psu.edu/Industry_Targeting/ExtensionPapersandSlides/IndustryclusterWkspExtPapers.htm.<br /> <br /> Stallmann, Judith I. and Thomas G. Johnson. "A Review of 'An Analysis of Missouri Local Government Borrowing Costs.'" Prepared for Missouri State Auditor, Jefferson City, Missouri. September 23, 2005.<br /> <br /> Stallmann, Judith I. "Missouri's State and Local Taxes: A Comparison with Other States." Invited testimony: September 7, 2005, to the Joint Committee on Tax Policy, Missouri Legislature, Jefferson City, Missouri<br /> <br /> Stallmann, Judith I. and Eunice Patron. "The Missouri Sales Tax Holiday of 2004." Report to the Missouri Municipal League and the Missouri Association of Counties. Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Missouri-Columbia. April 2, 2005.<br /> <br /> Stallmann, Judith I. "The impact of tax revenue limitations on local government economic development practices." North American Regional Science Meeting, Las Vegas, Nevada. November 10-12, 2005.<br /> <br /> Stallmann, Judith I. "The Economic Effects of a Sales Tax Holiday in Missouri." with Eunice Patron. Southern Regional Science Association, Roslyn, Virginia. April 8, 2005.<br /> <br /> Stallmann, Judith I. "The Jury is Still Out on Incentives: A How-to Case Study." Southern Regional Science Association, Roslyn, Virginia. April 8, 2005.<br /> <br /> Stenberg, Peter L. "Modern Telecommunications in Rural America" invited speaker at Chicago Federal Reserve Bank seminar "The Future of Economic Development in Rural America," Des Moines, Iowa, November 2005.<br /> <br /> Stenberg, Peter L. "The Knowledge Economy in the United States and the Transition Countries of Central Europe" presented in organized symposium "From Transformation to Integration: Assessing Economic, Social and Environmental Sustainability of Agriculture and Rural Areas in Central and East European Countries," American Agricultural Economics Association, Providence, RI, July 2005.<br /> <br /> Stenberg, Peter L. "Diffusion of New Telecom Services: Myths and Realities in a Rural-Urban Difference," paper presented at the Western Regional Science Association annual meetings, San Diego, CA, February 2005.<br /> <br /> Thilmany, Dawn, N. McKenney, D. Mushinski and S. Weiler. "Geographic Interdependencies and Regional Base Industries in Rural Retail Markets." Annals of Regional Science 39(September 2005): 593-605. <br /> <br /> Thilmany, Dawn. "Private and Public Economic Perspectives on Animal Disease: An Emerging Strategic Issue for Agribusiness Managers." International Food and Agribusiness Management Review. 8(February 2005) 98-101.<br /> <br /> Weber, Bruce, "Poverty, Policy and Place: A Symposium" International Regional Science Review, 28(4):379-380, October 2005<br /> <br /> Weber, Bruce, Leif Jensen, Kathleen Miller, Jane Mosley, Monica Fisher, "A Critical Review of Rural Poverty Literature: Is There Truly a Rural Effect?" International Regional Science Review, 28(4): 381-414, October 2005<br /> <br /> Winter, Steven B. Seth A. Kessler and Judith I. Stallmann. "Missouri State and Local Spending: A Fifty-state Comparison for 2002." Missouri Extension, MP742. August, 2005. http://muextension.missouri.edu/explore/miscpubs/mp0742.htm.<br /> <br /> Winter, Steven B. Seth A. Kessler and Judith I. Stallmann. "Missouri State and Local Taxes and Revenues: A Fifty-state Comparison for 2002." Missouri Extension, MP743. August, 2005. http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/miscpubs/mp0743.htm.<br /> <br />

Impact Statements

1. Research on location choices and input market areas of agro-industrial plants can have an important impact by increasing the efficiency of public support for value-added agriculture as a rural development strategy by helping the public avoid wasting taxpayer dollars on subsidies that induce establishments to open in places where they cannot survive in the competitive marketplace.
2. Completed work on the rural health network was presented in two congressional staff briefings on rural health policy--one for House staffers and one for Senate staffers working with members of congress on rural community policy. These staff briefings have generated increased dialog about these issues and has led to increased congressional oversight of federal land management policies that undermine the viability of rural health networks.
3. Results from an analysis of job satisfaction of agricultural employees were presented to producers and extension educators in Michigan and shared across states. As an outcome of the application of job satisfaction research results employee well-being, safety on farms, and labor productivity will increase. The material has been published as part of a series of five notebooks and accompanying CD. In using these materials, agricultural managers will be able to increase labor productivity and reduce risk.
4. Findings from the research on hunger and poverty have been cited in local, state and national media and used in policy discussions about hunger and poverty reduction. The results are being used by regional foundation leadership to support locally-driven community strategies to create better opportunities for low-income workers and their families. These findings have also informed the strategies of a collaboration of workforce development partners (including a state agency, community college, employers, and the university) in Linn and Benton Counties in Oregon involved in a federal demonstration project to upgrade the career opportunities of low-income healthcare workers.
5. Two technical reports, from a study that examined the relationship between public expenditures on child care assistance and the average price of child care in Minnesota counties, were issued which helped to inform state policymakers about the role of child care assistance in the Minnesota economy. State policymakers have noted the importance of the studys results concerning the health care sector for workforce development and training programs and the potential for public-private partnerships. Research tracking families outcomes over time also provides state and county program managers with much needed information on families need for assistance over time and allows for improved expenditure forecasts.
6. Research on the changing structure of the rural economy has significant potential policy impact. Baseline information on the factors affecting restructuring in rural economies and wage inequality is needed to compare changes in the regional and state economies of the U.S. to see if they are affected more or less by these forces than the nation as a whole. This will help states and regions tailor their economic development policies to compliment those of the nation and to be consistent with the needs of their region.
7. NE 1011 researchers were invited to testify before the State of Missouris Legislative Joint Committee on Tax Policy concerning how Missouri ranks on state and local taxes compared with other states. The research was also requisitioned by the St. Louis Growth Association which has formed a special advisory committee to look at metropolitan fragmentation, the issue highlighted by the NE 1011 researchers. It was also used in training offered by the Truman School of Public Affairs. Several newspapers wrote articles on the studies. An audio interview was picked up by 46 stations through a phone feed and downloaded from a website by 26 stations thus improving the information available to citizens.
8. Studies of the effects of a proposed Business Activities Tax (BAT) have helped to inform state policymakers about the impact of proposed changes in state business taxation. In particular, the BAT study emerges at a time when the decline in Minnesotas corporate income tax receipts has renewed policymakers interest in business tax reform. This study presents the only estimates of the BAT rate required to replace the Minnesota CFT and the only analysis of the effects of a Minnesota BAT by industry, and is likely to influence the upcoming business tax debate. Minnesota Revenue Commissioner Dan Salomone has said that he plans to use the study to prepare a state tax reform agenda for the 2007 legislative session.
9. Cost of community services studies have substantial impact on public policy and citizens. They proved useful in the political process wherein such issues are resolved by shedding light on the relative costs and benefits of specific distribution of financial resources implicit in the existing pattern of development. One of the NE 1011 researcher&lsquo;s studies figured prominently in Chatham Countys (NC) debates over assessing impact fees on new residential development to pay for the costs of services that the county would provide to new residences - debates which ultimately culminated in levying a fee of $1,500 per new dwelling unit.
10. The impact of the work on community development and coastal land use issues is that it demonstrates how improvements in coastal tourism can be financed by user fees charged to the visitors, rather than relying upon federal or state aid. This is important as some communities are struggling to maintain their tourism-based economies in the face of increasing threats from coastal erosion and hurricane damage.

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Report Information

Participants

See attached meeting minutes.

Brief Summary of Minutes

At the annual meeting, general business was quickly conducted, including acknowledgements, approval of previous minutes, elections and plans for future meetings. Most of the meeting time was spent discussing the proposal for the new project proposal which will begin when the current project ends (in 2007). The three external reviews of the proposal were generally quite positive. There were four major points that require some response, including: (a) a request for more participation from researchers in disciplines other than economics; (b) a request that more attention be paid to interactions with state Workforce Investment Boards; (c) a call for more explicit inter-linking of the proposals four objectives; and (d) a request that more attention be paid to developing an explicit work plan laying out measurable outcomes and impacts as well as the timing of activities generating those outcomes/impacts. Strategies for responding to those points, as well as suggested language for the final edited version of the proposal were developed.
Finally, participants also shared state accomplishments and individual activities/areas of interest and discussed new research ideas and extensions of work ongoing or completed as part of this project.

A research paper session was also held in which five research papers were presented and formally discussed. Topics included the spatial distribution of entrepreneurial talent; participation and employment dynamics of child care subsidy users; the economic geography of population dynamics; firm relocation; and managerial skills. Research papers presented in related sessions examined the impact of tax and expenditure limits on economic growth; reform of municipal government structure; the economics of bio-fuels production; economic impacts of off-road vehicle recreation; and determinants of childcare choices among working mothers.

Detailed meeting minutes are attached.

Accomplishments

Objective 1: To better understand the emerging opportunities and threats to the economic structure of non-metropolitan communities arising from forces that change the size or structure of rural markets. We focus on electronic commerce, financial liberalization, and health care. <br /> <br /> Research focused on both farm and off-farm structural changes in rural economies. A number of researchers focused on value-added agriculture. Topics of analysis included quantifying the importance of bioenergy production in the rural economy; assessing the impact of the meatpacking and processing industry on economic growth of non-metropolitan counties in the Midwest and Southern U.S.; measuring the nationwide impacts of specialty crop (especially nursery crops) on rural versus urban counties; analyzing the relative importance of human resource management practices across various sub-sectors of the agricultural economy; measuring the economic impact of Colorado's wine industry; and (e) assessing the impact of state programs aimed at promoting value-added agriculture. <br /> <br /> Research was conducted on the role of the Internet in rural economies. One study examined the economics of communication and information service delivery and on-line economic activities - particularly e-commerce - with respect to farm and rural businesses. A survey was developed for administration to 18,000 farms. It addresses how much economic activity (purchases and sales) farm operators conduct through the Internet. Results will be forthcoming in a briefing room on rural telecommunications( http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/telecom/). Another study analyzed the relative costs and benefits of Federal underwriting (as part of the Farm Bill) of deployment of broadband connectivity to rural places. That work is part of a forthcoming edited volume analyzing various aspects of the Farm Bill, and is already eliciting significant interest.<br /> <br /> Other research efforts were oriented toward understanding structural changes in rural economies. Several members investigated the costs and benefits of "big-box" retail development on local economies. These studies delineated the uneven distribution of impacts (positive and negative) on employees, shoppers, other businesses, and local communities, as well as analyzing the role of state policies with respect to planning and regulation of these businesses.<br /> <br /> Some research under this objective used shift-share analysis to quantify the changing structure of rural economies. One study focused on the incidence of hunger across different demographic groups. Other studies in this vein linked structural change to changes in human capital levels, tax policies, population growth, and worker mobility. <br /> <br /> <br /> Objective 2: To determine the root causes of changes in rural labor markets, the employment and demographic growth that are likely to occur in the future, and the degree to which these factors are modified by workforce development policies. <br /> <br /> Work was conducted on the role of immigrants into the Mountain West's agricultural sector. This work was presented at a summer 2006 conference in Washington DC during the height of the debate on immigration reform. Research was also conducted on migration out of rural counties across the United States, and the impacts that this "brain drain" has had on rural labor markets. <br /> <br /> Other research projects explored the determinants of innovative activity in nonmetropolitan areas and the role of innovation on nonmetro economic development. Focusing on patent activity, this research indicated that nonmetro innovative activity was associated with county employment in scientific and technical occupations, industrial diversity, large share of small establishments, a base of high-tech manufacturing, and patenting activity in nearby counties. Importantly, this research revealed that most nonmetro areas benefit little from state policies that focus research and development activities in metro areas.<br /> <br /> Research investigated changes in human resource practices of supermarkets in response to the entry of large discount retailers. This work - a companion to analyses of big box retailers noted under Objective 1 - found that traditional food retailers did not make major changes in their wage, hiring and promotion policies. But it also revealed that overall labor market changes resulted from the closing of stores as mass merchandisers entered a market or expanded their sales of fresh food and grocery items. <br /> <br /> Other research focused on child care assistance as a work support program in rural versus urban areas. It was found that despite higher county poverty rates and higher overall unemployment rates, families in rural noncore counties had slightly fewer months of child care subsidy use, food stamps and TANF compared to those in metropolitan and micropolitan counties. <br /> <br /> Understanding land use changes requires understanding of the evolving spatial distribution of residence and workplace. Several members developed models for examining that issue. One project explored the extent to which observed land use patterns are consistent with major theories of suburbanization and rural land development. This work indicated that accessibility to urban centers provides a better explanation of residential sprawl patterns at a more aggregate scale of analysis than a local one and that substantial differences exist in the determinants of residential land use patterns in exurban (or peri-urban) regions versus urban and suburban areas. For example, accessibility to urban centers explains a substantial amount of the variation in land development patterns in urban and in particular suburban areas, but explains almost nothing of the observed variations in pattern in exurban areas.<br /> <br /> Other work developed methods for estimating how job growth in a particular county confers benefits and costs to residents of nearby counties. This research has provided important inputs into ongoing debates over the local effects of plant relocation and the value of industrial targeting programs to local economies. It has also apprised local policy makers of the fiscal implications of spatial spillovers (both positive and negative) associated with residential development. <br /> <br /> <br /> Objective 3: To understand the effects of public policy on rural areas and rural industries. <br /> <br /> In 2006 three members of the project published an edited book on community policy which includes contributions from many of the project's other members. The book describes the most recent theoretical and methodological bases underlying local policy analysis, summarizes a number of case-studies where impact analysis aided local communities in decision-making, and most importantly, outlines a detailed educational program using the impact model as a teaching tool. This project reflects an ideal interface between research and extension outreach education. <br /> <br /> Other research under this objective continue to explore the problems and issues involved in measuring the impact of economic development policy. New research has begun on the impacts of Tax and Expenditure Limitations (TELs) - such as the Colorado Taxpayer's Bill of Rights - on state and local economies and governments. The work to date on this topic has focused on state-level budgeting, and the arguments made both for and against such laws. One argument fits into the body of literature concerning the impact of taxes on economic growth. Proponents of TELs argue that government is too large, and that redirecting revenues to the private sector would result in greater economic growth. However, research to date has uncovered no significant link between state and local TELs and increased economic growth.<br /> <br /> Fiscal impact models continue to be developed and refined for analyzing the impacts of various policy interventions. Examples include use of a combined social accounting matrix and linear programming model to assess alternative public lands policies; use of cross-sectional time-series procedures to estimate fiscal impact models; development of county and sub-county interindustry models for analyzing the economic impacts of industrial targeting policies and programs for attracting healthcare professionals; and use of a standard fiscal impact model to assess the local budgetary impacts of farmland protection programs. Finally, research is underway to assess the effectiveness of establishing tax-free zones for purposes of encouraging new economic activity in economically distressed non-metro communities. This work links to on-going (but still inconclusive) work on the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of urban enterprise zones.<br /> <br /> <br /> Objective 4: To identify community characteristics associated with viable and healthy rural communities and investigate policy alternatives to enhance these characteristics. <br /> <br /> Several researchers examined the impacts of policy on poverty. One study focused on the effect that transfer payments to poor people had on transitions in and out of poverty. The primary findings were that (a) income maintenance programs were effective in fostering exit from poverty but more so in metro areas than in nonmetro areas; (b) retirement and disability insurance programs did not play a significant role in alleviating poverty in both metro areas and nonmetro areas after welfare reform; (c) unemployment insurance programs had a greater effect in reducing poverty after welfare reform than before, especially in nonmetro areas; and (d) medical benefits had more effect on poverty reduction in nonmetro than in metro areas. <br /> <br /> A second study focused on transitory versus persistent poverty. The findings of this study support arguments in favor of policies that differentiate persistent poverty from transitory poverty. They also highlight the importance of spatial attributes in the fight against poverty. Current antipoverty strategies revolve around the provision of safety nets to prevent entry into poverty and foster exit from poverty through job markets. This strategy is not sufficient for persistently poor households who remain in poverty because they are unable to self-finance investments needed to sufficient returns from their assets. Persistently poor households would benefit from strategies that enhance their capabilities to accumulate assets and transform them into entitlements through social, economic, cultural and political institutions. <br /> <br /> A third study focused on food insecurity among the poor. It found that food insecurity is influenced by much more than demographics and individual choices. County level factors such as residential location (urban or rural) and housing costs significantly affect the likelihood that a low-income household will be food insecure.<br /> <br /> Other work analyzed the capacity of rural communities in the western U.S. to deliver quality K-12 education and a full complement of social and community services to their residents. This research used telephone surveys and face-to-face key informant interviews with a diverse mix of local policymakers. Respondents were queried about their perceptions of education quality in rural communities and community infrastructure that supports the delivery of a quality K-12 education. Papers based on this research explore how education in the rural west is evolving and how the decision making dynamics are impacted by resident perceptions; and how collective actions is evolving in the rural west as population demographics change. <br /> <br /> Finally, research is underway to explore the determinants of community development and its interface with saltwater marsh environments of the southeast United States. Mounting evidence shows that these environments are very susceptible to damages from urbanization. Urban water runoff, boat dock construction, septic tank leakage are examples of causes of considerable direct harm. Unfortunately, the land bordering the marshes are being developed at a fast pace, and in a manner that places the environment at the most risk. This research examines how the real estate market responds to designs of houses and neighborhoods that are more sensitive to environmental protection, using a hedonic price model with data from Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.<br />

Publications

Allen, Thomas, Todd Gabe and James McConnon. 2006. The Economic Contribution of Agri-Tourism to the Maine Economy. Department of Resource Economics and Policy, University of Maine, Staff Paper 563, October 2006.<br /> <br /> Alevy, J., E. Fadali, Harris, T. R. 2006. Analysis of Impacts of Public Land Grazing on the Elko County Economy and Mountain City Management Area: Economic Impacts of Federal Grazing in Elko County. UCED 2006/07-03.<br /> <br /> Artz, Georgeanne and Peter F. Orazem. 2006. Re-examining Rural Decline: How Changing Rural Classifications Affect Perceived Growth. Review of Regional Studies 36(2).<br /> <br /> Artz, Georgeanne, Peter F. Orazem, and Daniel M. Otto. 2007. Measuring the Impact of Meat Packing and Processing Facilities in Nonmetropolitan Counties: A Difference-in-Differences Approach, forthcoming, American Journal of Agricultural Economics (August).<br /> <br /> Artz, Georgeanne and Kenneth Stone. 2006. Analyzing the Impact of Wal-Mart Supercenters on Local Food Store Sales. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, conference proceedings issue.<br /> <br /> Backman, S., K. Backman, R. Brookover, M. Henry, W. Norman, and A. Dixon. 2006. The Impact of the 2005 Heritage Golf Tournament. PRTM and REDRL Research Report, Clemson University.<br /> <br /> Barkley, D.L., M.S. Henry, and S. Nair. 2006. Regional Innovation Systems: Implications for Nonmetropolitan Areas and Workers in the South. Growth and Change 37(2): 278-306.<br /> <br /> Barkley, D.L., M.S. Henry, and D. Lee. 2006. Innovative Activity in Rural Areas: The Importance of Local and Regional Characteristics. Community Development Investment Review. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Vol. 2(3): 1-14.<br /> <br /> Barkley, D.L. 2006. The Value of Case Study Research on Rural Entrepreneurship. Presented paper at joint ERS-RUPRI conference: Exploring Rural Entrepreneurship: Imperatives and Opportunities for Research, Washington, DC. www.clemson.edu/uced/Entrepreneurship_Small_Business_Development.<br /> <br /> Barkley, D.L., M.S Henry, R. Dundensing. 2006. Targeting Growth Opportunities for Florence County, 2006. REDRL Research Report 08-2006-01. Regional Economic Development Research Laboratory, Clemson University.<br /> <br /> Bernell, Stephanie, Mark Edwards and Bruce Weber.2006. Restricted Opportunities, Unfortunate Personal Choices, Ineffective Policies? What Explains Food Insecurity. in Oregon Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 31(2): 193-211.<br /> <br /> Bitsch, V., G. Abate Kassa, S.B. Harsh, and A.W. Mugera. 2006. Human resource management risks: Sources and control strategies based on dairy farmer focus groups. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 38:123-36.<br /> <br /> Burkey, J., Harris, T. R. 2006. Impacts of Privatization: Use of Multimodel Survey. The Social Science Journal, 43(4) 617-628.<br /> <br /> Cheng, M-L., N. Bills, J.D. Francis. 2006. Historical and Spatial Analysis of High-Value Crop Production in the U.S. Working Paper 2006-23.<br /> <br /> Chi, Guangqing, Voss, Paul R. and Deller, Steven C. 2006. Rethinking Highway Effects on Population Change. Public Works Management and Policy 11(1):18-32.<br /> <br /> Das, Biswaranjan, and Daniel V. Rainey. 2006. A Report on the Changing Structure of The Arkansas Economy a County-Wise Shift Share Analysis 1980-2000. Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station. Research Report 980.<br /> <br /> Davis, Elizabeth, Matthew Freedman, Julia Lane, Brian McCall, Nicole Nistoriak and Tim Park. 2006. Supermarket Human Resource Practices and Competition from Mass Merchandisers. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 88(5): 1289-1295.<br /> <br /> Deller, Steven 2006. Modeling the Public Sector. In Thomas Johnson, Dan Otto and Steven Deller (eds). Community Policy Analysis Modeling. Oxford: Blackwell Professional Publishing.<br /> <br /> Deller, Steven. 2006. Applications of Community Policy Analysis Models: A Collection of Case Studies. In Thomas Johnson, Dan Otto and Steven Deller (eds). Community Policy Analysis Modeling. Oxford: Blackwell Professional Publishing.<br /> <br /> Deller, Steven C. and Maher, Craig. 2006. A Model of Asymmetries in the Flypaper Effect. Publius: The Journal of Federalism. 36(2):213-229.<br /> <br /> Deller, Steven and Judith I. Stallmann. 2007. Tax and Expenditure Limitations and Economic Growth. Marquette Law Review, forthcoming. <br /> <br /> Fadali, E., Harris, T. R. 2006. Estimated Economic Impacts of the Cattle Ranching and Farming Sector on the Elko County Economy. UCED 2005/06-26.<br /> <br /> Fadali, E., Harris, T. R. 2006. The Economic Impacts of Selected Professionals on the Economy of the State of Nevada. UCED 2005/06-27.<br /> <br /> Fadali, E., Harris, T. R. 2006. Analysis of Impacts of Public Land Grazing on the Elko County Economy and Mountain City Management Area: Socioeconomics Profile for Jarbidge, Owyhee, and Mountain City Zip Codes. UCED 2006/07-02.<br /> <br /> Fadali, E., Harris, T. R. 2006. Economic Considerations for Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education Student Exchange and Healthcare Access Programs. UCED 2006/07-06.<br /> <br /> Fawson, Chris. 2006. Logan City Economic Development Project. Technical Report<br /> <br /> Gabe, Todd M. 2006. Growth of Creative Occupations in U.S. Metropolitan Areas: A Shift-Share Analysis. Growth and Change 37(3).<br /> <br /> Gabe, Todd. 2006. Effects of a Proposed TABOR Initiative on Local School and Municipal Government Expenditures in Maine. Department of Resource Economics and Policy, University of Maine, Staff Paper 561.<br /> <br /> Gabe, Todd. State and Local Government Finances in Maine: Early Impacts of LD 1. 2006. Department of Resource Economics and Policy, University of Maine, Staff Paper 557.<br /> <br /> Gabe, Todd and Thomas Allen. 2006. Economic Impact of Cruise Ships in Maine: 2005 Passenger and Crew Expenditures in Bar Harbor and Portland. Department of Resource Economics and Policy, University of Maine, Staff Paper 558.<br /> <br /> Gabe, Todd, Colleen Lynch and James McConnon.2006. Likelihood of Cruise Ship Passenger Return to a Visited Port: The Case of Bar Harbor, Maine. Journal of Travel Research 44(3).<br /> <br /> Gabe, Todd and Caroline Noblet. 2006. Economic Profile of the Environmental and Energy Technology Sector in Maine. Department of Resource Economics and Policy, University of Maine, Staff Paper 564.<br /> <br /> Grobe, Deana, Roberta B. Weber and Elizabeth E. Davis. 2006. Why Do They Leave? Child Care Subsidy Use in Oregon. Oregon State University Family Policy Program, Oregon Child Care Research Partnership.<br /> <br /> Goodwin, Jr., H.L., F. Dustan Clark, Dawn Thilmany, and Sandra J. Hamm. 2006. Policies to Protect Food Safety and Animal Health. CHOICES 21: 189-93. Online at: http://www.choicesmagazine.org/2006-3/animal/2006-3-animal.pdf<br /> <br /> Harris, T. R. 2006. The Economic and Social Impact of Big Box Retailers: Discussion. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 88(5): 1311-1312.<br /> <br /> Harris, T. R., E. Fadali, and S. Price. 2006. Update of Truckee River Operating Agreement (TROA) Interindustry Model: Background and User's Manual', UCED 2005/06-13.<br /> <br /> Harris, T. R., F. Nota, and E. Fadali. 2006. Analysis of Impacts of Public Land Grazing on the Elko County Economy and Mountain City Management Area: An Economic Description of the Agricultural Sector and Range Livestock Sector in Elko County. UCED 2006/07-05.<br /> <br /> Harris, T. R., J.S. Shonkwiler, and P. Janson. 2006. Chapter 10: The Great Basin Fiscal Impact Model. In Thomas Johnson, Dan Otto, and Steve Deller (Ed.), Community Policy Analysis Modeling. Blackwell Publishing.<br /> <br /> Harrison, Thane W., John M. Halstead and Douglas E. Morris. 2006. How Land Use Mix Affects Local Expenditures. Abstract, Agricultural and Resource Economics Review 35(2).<br /> <br /> Henry, Mark, David Barkley, and Steven Deller. 2006. Scenario Development in Community Policy Analysis Models: When is a Cost Actually a Benefit? In Thomas Johnson, Dan Otto and Steven Deller (eds). Community Policy Analysis Modeling. Oxford: Blackwell Professional Publishing.<br /> <br /> Henry, M.S., D. L. Barkley, M. Hammig. 2006. Marketing and Processing Shrimp Landed in McClellanville, SC: A Feasibility Study for Carolina Seafood Associates. REDRL Research Report 12-2006-01, Regional Economic Development Research Laboratory, Clemson University.<br /> <br /> Hodur, Nancy M., F. Larry Leistritz, and Tarrand Hertsgaard. 2006. Contribution of the North Dakota Agricultural Products Utilization Commission to the State Economy. AAE 06006. Fargo: NDSU, Dept. of Agr. & Applied Economics. <br /> <br /> Irwin, E.G. and N.E. Bockstael (forthcoming). Measuring and modeling the evolution of urban land use patterns in the U.S. as a spatial socioeconomic process. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.<br /> Irwin, E.G., N.E. Bockstael, and H.J. Cho (forthcoming). Measuring the amount and pattern of land development in non-urban areas. Review of Agricultural Economics.<br /> Irwin, E.G. and J.K. Clark. 2007. How states can mitigate the impacts of big box retail on local communities. Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy 37(1).<br /> Irwin, E.G. and Clark, J. 2006. Wall Street vs. Main Street: what are the benefits and costs of Wal-Mart to local communities? Choices 21(2). <br /> <br /> Johnson, Thomas G. Otto, Daniel, and Deller, Steven C. (eds). 2006. Community Policy Analysis Modeling. Oxford: Blackwell Professional Publishing.<br /> <br /> Johnson, Thomas G., Phillip C. Badger, Samuel J. Orr, and Ira J. Altman. 2006. Biopower Toolkit: Analyzing the Economics of Generating Power from Renewable Biofuels. University of Missouri  Columbia.<br /> <br /> Johnson, Thomas, Steven Deller, and Dan Otto. 2006. Introduction to Community Policy Analysis Modeling. In Thomas Johnson, Steven Deller and Dan Otto (eds). Community Policy Analysis Modeling. Oxford: Blackwell Professional Publishing.<br /> <br /> Johnson, Thomas G. 2007. Place-Based Economic Policy: Innovation or Fad, Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, forthcoming.<br /> <br /> Johnson, Thomas G. 2007. Measuring the Benefits of Entrepreneurship Development Policy, Journal of Entrepreneurial Development, Forthcoming.<br /> <br /> Kalambokidis, Laura. 2006. Should Minnesota Step up to the BAT?: Replacing the Corporate Franchise Tax with a Business Activities Tax. Tax Section News 6(2): 9-10.<br /> <br /> Leistritz, F. Larry, Nancy M. Hodur, Donald M. Senechal, Mark D. Stowers, Darold McCalla, and Chris M. Saffron. 2007. Biorefineries Using Agricultural Residue Feedstock in the Great Plains. AAE 07001. Fargo: NDSU, Department of Agribusiness & Applied Economics. <br /> <br /> Leistritz, F. Larry, Donald M. Senechal, Mark Stowers, William F. McDonald, Chris M. Saffron, and Nancy M. Hodur. 2006. Preliminary Feasibility Analysis for an Integrated Biomaterials and Ethanol Biorefinery Using Wheat Straw Feedstock. AAE Rpt. No. 590. Fargo: NDSU, Dept. of Agr. & Applied Economics. <br /> <br /> Magri, A., K. Bauer, and J.D. Francis. 2006. GIS as a Tool for Teaching and Research. Society for American Archaeology Annual Conference. San Juan, PR.<br /> <br /> Magri, A. and J.D. Francis. 2006. Evaluation of Selected Spatial Statistics Tools in ArcGIS 9.x. ESRI Annual Conference. San Diego, CA August, 2006.<br /> <br /> Magri, C., A. Magri and J.D. Francis. 2006. Using Membership Functions to aid Farmer Direct Marketing. ESRI Annual Conference. San Diego, CA August, 2006.<br /> <br /> Morris, Douglas E. and Shayne Annett. 2006. Purchasing Development Rights From Farmland: Experiences From The Northeastern United States. Proceedings, International Landcare Conference, Melbourne, Australia.<br /> <br /> Noblet, Caroline and Todd Gabe. 2006. Business Climate for Maines Environmental and Energy Technology Sector. Department of Resource Economics and Policy, University of Maine, Staff Paper 565.<br /> <br /> Packham, J., S. Price, and T.R. Harris. 2006. The Impact of the Local Health Care Sector System on the Lyon County Economy. UCED 2005/06-28.<br /> <br /> Packham, J., Price, S., Harris, T. R. 2006. The Impact of the Local Health Care Sector System on the Carson City Economy. UCED 2005/06-29.<br /> <br /> Packham, J., Price, S., Harris, T. R. 2006. The Impact of the Local Health Care Sector System on the Churchill County Economy. UCED 2005/06-30.<br /> <br /> Packham, J., Price, S., Harris, T. R. 2006. The Impact of the Local Health Care Sector System on the Douglas County Economy. UCED 2005/06-31.<br /> <br /> Packham, J., Price, S., Harris, T. R. 2006. The Impact of the Local Health Care Sector System on the Elko County Economy. UCED 2005/06-32.<br /> <br /> Packham, J., Price, S., Harris, T. R. 2006. The Impact of the Local Health Care Sector System on the Eureka County Economy. UCED 2005/06-3<br /> <br /> Packham, J., Price, S., Harris, T. R. 2006. The Impact of the Local Health Care Sector System on the Clark County Economy. UCED 2005/06-34.<br /> <br /> Packham, J., Price, S., Harris, T. R. 2006. The Impact of the Local Health Care Sector System on the Lander County Economy. UCED 2005/06-35.<br /> <br /> Packham, J., Price, S., Harris, T. R. 2006. The Impact of the Local Health Care Sector System on the Lincoln County Economy. UCED 2005/06-36.<br /> <br /> Packham, J., Price, S., Harris, T. R. 2006. The Impact of the Local Health Care Sector System on the Mineral County Economy. UCED 2005/06-37.<br /> <br /> Packham, J., Price, S., Harris, T. R. 2006. The Impact of the Local Health Care Sector System on the Humboldt County Economy. UCED 2005/06-38.<br /> <br /> Packham, J., Price, S., Harris, T. R. 2006. The Impact of the Local Health Care Sector System on the Nye County Economy. UCED 2005/06-39.<br /> <br /> Packham, J., Price, S., Harris, T. R. 2006. The Impact of the Local Health Care Sector System on the Pershing County Economy. UCED 2005/06-40.<br /> <br /> Packham, J., Price, S., Harris, T. R. 2006. The Impact of the Local Health Care Sector System on the White Pine County Economy. UCED 2005/06-41.<br /> <br /> Packham, J., Price, S., Harris, T. R. 2006. The Impact of the Local Health Care Sector System on the Washoe County Economy. UCED 2005/06-42.<br /> <br /> Price, S., Harris, T. R., Packham, J., Boline, S. 2006. Feasibility Analysis for a Kidney Dialysis Center in Humboldt General Hospital. UCED 2005/06-12.<br /> <br /> Rainey, Daniel V. Olga I. Murova, and Melvin J. Landry Jr. Economic Growth and Local Government Expenditures. Applied Research in Economic Development 3(2): 45-55.<br /> <br /> Renkow, Mitch. 2006. Employment Growth and the Allocation of New Jobs: Evidence from the South. Review of Regional Studies 36(1): 121-139.<br /> <br /> Renkow, Mitch. 2007. Infrastructure Investment and Rural Development. In: Bruce L. Gardner and Daniel A. Sumner (eds.), Agricultural Policy for 2007 Farm Bill and Beyond. Washington, DC: The AEI Press (forthcoming)<br /> <br /> Reum, A. D., T.R. Harris. 2006. Exploring Firm Location Beyond Simple Growth models: A double Hurdle Application. The Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy 36(1): 45-67.<br /> <br /> Shaffer, Ron, Steven C. Deller, and David Marcouiller. 2006. Rethinking Community Economic Development. Economic Development Quarterly. 20(1): 59-74<br /> <br /> Stallmann, Judith I. 2007. Impacts of Tax and Expenditure Limitations on Small Local Governments: Lessons from Colorado and Missouri. Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy. Forthcoming.<br /> <br /> Stenberg, Peter 2006. Agriculture E-Commerce in the U.S.A.: An Overview of Communication and Information Technology and Agricultural Business. In: Widi Hardjono et al (Eds.), Seminar on Networking of the Agricultural Technology Transfer and Training, APEC Secretariat.<br /> <br /> Stenberg, Peter, and Mitchell Morehart 2006. Determinants of Internet Use for Rural and Farm Economic Sectors. Paper presented at the Telecommunication Policy Research Conference, Arlington, VA, September 29.<br /> <br /> Stenberg, Peter 2006. Investment and Household Adoption of Communication and Information Services Across the United States. In: Borge Johansson, Charlie Karlsson, and Roger Stough (Eds.), The Emerging Digital Economy: Entrepreneurship, Clusters and Policy, New York: Springer.<br /> <br /> Stenberg, Peter, and Mitchell Morehart 2006. Regional Development and the Internet across the United States' Economy. Invited paper, Beijing Forum, Bejing, China, October 27.<br /> <br /> Stenberg, Peter 2006. Spatial Adjustments of the Value-Added Agriculture Industry. Paper presented at the NAREA Annual Meeting, Mystic, CT, June 12.<br /> <br /> Thilmany, D. 2006. Emerging Immigration and Farm Labor Issues in the Mountain West. Invited paper to Immigration Reform: Implications for Farmers, Farm Workers, and US Agriculture. Washington DC.<br /> <br /> Thilmany, D.., P. Watson and G. Kress. 2006. The Economic Contribution of Colorados Wine Industry. Final report to the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board and Rocky Mountain Vintners and Viticulturalists Association. <br /> <br /> Ulimwengu, J.M. 2006. Persistent and transitory poverty across locations in the United States. Ph.D dissertation, Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics, The Ohio State University.<br /> <br /> Vusovic, S. and T.R. Harris. 2006. Analysis of Impacts of Public Land Grazing on the Elko County Economy and Mountain City Management Area: Socio-Economic Data and Trends for Elko County. UCED 2006/07-01.<br /> <br /> Vusovic, S. and T.R. Harris. 2006. Analysis of Impacts of Public Land Grazing on the Elko County Economy and Mountain City Management area: Fiscal Structures and Trends for Elko County Government, City of Elko Government, and City of Wells Government. UCED 2006/07-04.<br /> <br /> Walden, M.L. and Mitch Renkow. 2006. Residential Impact Fees: What Are the Impacts? NC State Economist (May).<br /> <br /> Wilson, J. and D. Thilmany. 2006. Golfers in Colorado: The Role of Golf in Recreational and Tourism Lifestyles and Expenditures. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing. 20(4). <br />

Impact Statements

1. Research in Oregon suggesting that housing costs may be a particularly important factor in explaining food insecurity has been cited in local, state and national media and widely used in policy discussions about hunger. There is particular interest in the extent to which community-based policy can play an important role in reducing hunger, and the findings about housing costs have provided another policy tool to local officials in addressing food insecurity.
2. Researchers in South Carolina assisted their state&lsquo;s Council on Competitiveness in measuring the growth and locational changes of selected industry clusters. This information enables better targeting cluster development programs and assessment of the impacts of these programs.
3. Analysis of Missouri&lsquo;s 2004 sales tax holiday impacts on local government revenues was cited by the City of North Kansas City in their decision to opt out of the tax holiday.
4. One Utah community completely revised its scoring document for business incentives based upon the research of Utah State University members, and other communities have expressed interest in integrating incorporating that approach within their strategic planning framework.
5. A pilot workshop addressing employee selection, training, employee evaluation, compensation, conflict management, discipline and termination, workplace communication, and motivation was developed and delivered in Kansas and Michigan for managers in pork production. Lessons learned from the workshops will help tailor individual consultations to better address labor risks. Indirectly, the project will contribute to agricultural employees&lsquo; quality of work life and reduce the number of workplace accidents and work-related health problems.
6. A Minnesota study of human resource practices of supermarkets is helping communities and policymakers understand the effects of changing retail structure on their local economy.
7. A county-level fiscal impact model developed in Nevada to estimate county fiscal impacts from exogenous changes has been used by rural hospitals considering Critical Access hospital (CAH) designation. Also the WICHE program has used results of economic impacts of financing certain health professions to the Nevada Assembly. The Western Nevada Development District has used results of the industrial targeting studies for their district&lsquo;s local economic development strategy and planning.
8. An analysis conducted in North Dakota of an integrated biomaterials and ethanol biorefinery, using wheat straw feedstock, developed information useful for making decisions regarding alternative uses of state resources to support development efforts.
9. Analysis of the economic and fiscal implications of farmland preservation policies in New Hampshire was beneficial in furthering the evolution of funding and administration of those policies from the state to local level.
10. A study examining Arkansas changing economy focused attention on entrepreneurial activities in rural locations with less direct access to urban markets and infrastructure.
11. Research on labor mobility and land use patterns in North Carolina has provided an important and frequent input into local debates over desirable economic development strategies, land use planning, and "smart growth."
12. Research in Colorado on farm labor and immigration has informed the debate on potential economic impacts under changed immigration policy for the agricultural sector. Economic analysis of Colorado&lsquo;s wine industry was highly cited in that state&lsquo;s press and is helping to guide the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board&lsquo;s plan for the future, including more emphasis on tourism development.

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Participants

Brief Summary of Minutes

Accomplishments

Accomplishments, 2002 - 2007<br /> <br /> Throughout the five years of the project, the team of researchers associated with NE-1011 has conducted research across a broad array of topics related to the projects four objectives. Three important forms of cross-state cooperation are evident in this body of research. First, a large share of the specific research activities and outputs were conducted collaboratively across states. For example, researchers in Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Texas, and South Carolina, and Iowa jointly developed a common modeling strategy for analyzing the economic and fiscal impacts of county level labor market shocks - the Community Policy Analysis System (COMPAS). A book edited by three Project members summarizes application of these COMPAS models to various public policy issues in each of these states (Johnson, Otto, and Deller 2006). These models are well-suited to facilitating measurement of both the spatial impacts (i.e., shifts in locations of establishments and jobs) and the workforce implications (shifts in employment opportunities among industries) likely to follow industrial restructuring in rural areas.<br /> <br /> A second important type of cross-state cooperation manifests itself in the form of research methods and approaches that have been developed in one state that were subsequently employed by researchers in other states investigating similar phenomena. For example, Renkow (2003, 2004, 2006) developed and implemented an analytical framework for breaking down county employment growth into changes in four components: in-commuting, out-commuting, unemployment, and labor force size (inclusive of net migration flows). This work was based on the fiscal and economic impact models of other NE-1011 members (Johnson, Scott, and Ma 1996; Swenson and Otto 2000; and Yeo and Holland 2000). In turn, Renkow's model was implemented (with some modification) by other NE-1011 members (Davis and Bachewe 2004). These empirical analyses have employed decennial census data for their implementation, but are equally amenable to using alternative data collected more frequently (e.g., annually). They generally confirm that changes in commuting flows are a dominant means by which labor markets adjust to employment shocks. Other work by NE-1011 researchers have employed different methods to examine the same phenomenon (Barkley, Henry, and Warner, 2002; Shields and Swenson, 2000), but have come to similar conclusions. <br /> <br /> A third example of the positive synergies created through the collaboration of NE-1011 researchers was a multi-state study of local social capital. This project demonstrated how network analysis methods can be used to describe, measure, and analyze community capacity for self-improvement. Researchers used a common survey approach to collect primary data about exchanges of money, information, and political support between civic, social, public, and private entities in a total of 58 small communities (about 12 in each state). The network data was augmented with economic, demographic, fiscal, and geographic data. The NE-1011 researchers analyzed the network data by applying existing social network analysis techniques and Keystone Sector Identification techniques (developed previously by an NE-1011 member) to quantify the community network structures. Next, they statistically analyzed the network patterns with respect to their secondary characteristics, local policy, and economic outcomes. The main research findings were that (i) community network structures differ with respect to size (population), (ii) no "best" structure with respect to economic outcomes was found, (iii) the new network approaches do measure social capital, and are particularly useful for distinguishing bridging from bonding social capital; and (iv) local policy choices, in particular, majority votes for local option sales taxation may be related to community network characteristics. The community network analysis activity by NE-1011 researchers collected the world's first known cross-section data on community networks, and has made it available to the research public for analysis and further basic research. It has and will continue to contribute to our ability to understand how societies can effectively organize themselves or why they may fail to organize themselves. Improving measures of social capital is a critical first step in understanding the role of social capital in community economic development.<br /> <br /> Accomplishments in 2007<br /> <br /> During calendar year 2007, NE-1011 members made progress on all four of the projects objectives. Accomplishments are presented by objective below.<br /> <br /> Objective 1: To better understand the emerging opportunities and threats to the economic structure of non-metropolitan communities arising from forces that change the size or structure of rural markets. We focus on electronic commerce, financial liberalization, and health care.<br /> <br /> NE-1011 researchers examined the economics of communication and information service delivery and online economic activities. These studies focused on both farm and non-farm businesses. Research findings suggested that rural businesses are successfully using e-commerce to expand markets and reduce costs.<br /> <br /> Other work conducted by NE-1011 members in Ohio focused on the evolution of housing, population and employment patterns in various states. These studies explored the changing nature of population dynamics, land use, and mobility patterns in various states, as well as the attendant implications for local and state policy.<br /> <br /> Several NE-1011 researchers investigated the impacts of the biofuel boom on rural communities. Researchers in the Midwest focused on the ethanol industry, while researchers in Virginia and North Dakota focused on alternative biostocks such as switchgrass, woody plants, and agricultural residue.<br /> <br /> Research by NE-1011 members in Pennsylvania analyzed the determinants of self-employment across the U.S., including analysis of the levers available for state and local leaders to stimulate self-employment activities. Factors analyzed included business support services and educational institutions (e.g., community colleges). In addition to documenting the growing importance of self-employment, especially in rural areas, the impacts of self-employment growth on increases in wage-and-salary employment were assessed. This work showed that self-employment can be an important avenue for reducing rural poverty.<br /> <br /> Other work under this objective focused on the effects of the creative economy of the United States, finding that the positive impacts associated with the creative sectors is largely confined to urban areas. Researchers in Kentucky studied the impact of casinos on the horse industry. Research conducted by NE-1011 members in New York and at the USDA examined the viability of specialty and other value-added crops for promoting economic growth in rural areas. Finally, research was conducted on the effects of local economic instability on rural business location. This work suggested that businesses are attracted to areas with high short-term and seasonal stability; that annual fluctuations in local employment are not a significant deterrent to new business activity; and that service businesses are particularly sensitive to local employment fluctuations.<br /> <br /> <br /> Objective 2: To determine the root causes of changes in rural labor markets, the employment and demographic growth that are likely to occur in the future, and the degree to which these factors are modified by workforce development policies. <br /> <br /> Research by NE-1011 members focused on a variety of rural labor market issues. Researchers in Pennsylvania studied involuntary part-time employment in rural areas due to insufficient local labor demand. That work found that while, in general, workers can have success in transitioning to full-time jobs, that process is more difficult for rural dwellers, Hispanics, women and younger people. The results suggest that policies for reducing involuntary part-time work mirror those for reducing unemployment. Additional research documented the trend of immigrants to move away from traditional gateway cities toward their peripheries and into rural areas.<br /> <br /> Researchers in Ohio, North Carolina and Minnesota analyzed the impacts of proximity to urban employment centers, migration, commuting and workforce development policies on rural labor markets. Those investigations have turned up important differences in the importance of commuting and migration in conditioning labor market outcomes with respect to who benefits from job growth in rural areas vis-à-vis urban areas. They also highlight the very significant role that proximity to urban areas plays in understanding rural population growth and economic activity in rural areas. <br /> <br /> In Oregon, a multidisciplinary team of researchers explored the relationship between education, migration, and poverty. For adults who live in a rural area, the study found that greater educational attainment has a direct effect on eventual poverty status by increasing the likelihood of obtaining higher income (wherever they live), but no indirect effect on eventual poverty by increasing the likelihood of moving to an urban place with better income-earning opportunities. Controlling for the fact that better-educated rural adults are more likely to move to urban areas, the study finds that migration per se has little additional influence on the likelihood of being poor.<br /> <br /> In Michigan, research was conducted to identify skill sets required of managers and supervisors in livestock production. There it was found that the optimal skill sets for livestock managers paralleled those found for other industries.<br /> <br /> <br /> Objective 3: To understand the effects of public policy on rural areas and rural industries.<br /> <br /> Several NE-1011 researchers investigated local and state public finance issues. Researchers in Missouri and Wisconsin focused on changing levels of fiscal stress, how municipalities are responding to those changes, and the nature of state-local fiscal relationships. An important element of that work examines how tax and expenditure limitations influence economic growth and development. Research in Arkansas examined the impact of changes to state sales tax policy on various household segments with the state. In Idaho, research on how the state government forecasts general fund revenues suggested new and better methods for predicting the size of budget stabilization funds needed to offset cyclical deficits. In Minnesota, research investigated the changing organizational structure, tax policy and fiscal standing of local governments and the impact of tax expenditure limits on local public finances and economic growth in rural areas - particularly with respect to a state tax-free zone program.<br /> <br /> Other work by NE-1011 members examined specific types of government investments and policies. Research was conducted on the impacts of federal investments in telecommunications and water treatment infrastructure on the performance of local economies in rural communities. That work revealed that the prospective payoffs to infrastructure investment in rural areas vie with the inherent difficulty in recouping their large fixed costs in locations with low population densities, and are often substantially related to proximity of rural communities to urban employment centers. Another project evaluated factors related to differences in employment and population change for border counties along state lines in an 11 state region of the Midwest, and found that spatial factors such as distance to larger population centers are more important for economic growth than local government fiscal policies. Still another project analyzed poverty dynamics to understand how policy changes have affected the prevalence of poverty in non-metropolitan counties. Results indicated that pockets of poverty persist even in states with strong economic growth, implying the need for either a focused program of simultaneous investment in job creation, human capital formation, infrastructure and socio-political networks or an explicit policy of promoting out-migration of educated youths. Finally, research in Arkansas found that sustained neglect in the public school system has had a detrimental effect on local economic growth. <br /> <br /> <br /> Objective 4: To identify community characteristics associated with viable and healthy rural communities and investigate policy alternatives to enhance these characteristics.<br /> <br /> Research in Arkansas investigated the potential economic impact of retirees for rural counties, revealing that the impacts can vary widely depending on the structure of the local economy and proximity to urban areas.<br /> <br /> Research in Wisconsin employed Bayesian model averaging to examine the role of amenities in economic development and growth. Research in South Carolina examined the prospects for industry clusters to be drivers of economic growth. That effort indicated that that medical devices clusters are small but rapidly growing, while the textile and apparel cluster has lost significant employment to foreign producers during the last ten years. NE-1011 members in Pennsylvania collaborated with other social scientists in Ohio and Louisiana to study the role of social capital as a driver of economic performance.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br />

Publications

2007 Publications<br /> <br /> Alter, T., J. Bridger, J. Findeis, T. Kelsey, A.E. Luloff, D. McLaughlin, and W. Shuffstall. 2007. Strengthening Rural Pennsylvania: An Integrated Approach to a Prosperous Commonwealth. The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program. 16 pp.<br /> <br /> Artz, Georgeanne, Peter F. Orazem, and Daniel M. Otto. 2007. Measuring the Impact of Meat Packing and Processing Facilities in Nonmetropolitan Counties: A Difference-in-Differences Approach, American Journal of Agricultural Economics 89(3): 557-570.<br /> <br /> Atasoy, Sibel, James McConnon, and Todd M. Gabe. 2007. The Economic Impact and Importance of Microbusinesses to the New England Economy. School of Economics, University of Maine, Staff Paper 560. <br /> <br /> Barkley, D.L., D.M. Markley, and D. Lamie. 2007. E-commerce as a Business Strategy: Lessons Learned from Case Studies of Rural and Small Town Businesses. UCED Research Report, EDA University Center for Economic Development, Clemson University. www.clemson.edu/uced.<br /> <br /> Bharadwaj, L. 2007. Work Participation, Motivation, and Benefit Receipt from Off-farm Work on U.S. Farms: A Household Bargaining Approach. Ph.D. Dissertation. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. 250 pp.<br /> <br /> Bitsch, V. 2007. Job Satisfaction in Horticulture: New Insights. Acta Horticulturae 762: 431-8.<br /> <br /> Bitsch, V. and N.J. Olynk. 2007. Skills Required of Managers in Livestock Production: Evidence from Focus Group Research. Review of Agricultural Economics 29 (4):749-64.<br /> <br /> Bitsch, V. and E. Yakura. 2007. Middle management in agriculture: Roles, functions, and practices. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review 10 (2):1-28.<br /> <br /> Brasier, K.J., S.J. Goetz, et al. 2007. How Clusters of Agricultural Firms Affect Local Community Sustainability. Journal of the Community Development Society (in press).<br /> <br /> Cheng, M-L., N. Bills, and J. Francis. 2007. Systemic Risk and Spatial Dependence of Specialty Crop Production: Implications for Whole Farm Insurance. North American Regional Science Association Meetings. Savannah, GA.<br /> <br /> Colliver, Donald, James Bush, Alison Davis, Mike Montross, Robert Fehr, Richard Gates, Greg Halich, and Sue Nokes. 2007. Kentucky Resources to Meet the Energy Needs of the 25x25 Initiative. College of Agriculture, University of Kentucky.<br /> <br /> Cooke, Stephen C. 2007. Cyclical Deficits and State General Fund Revenue Forecasts: A Case Study of Idaho, 1998-2010, Research Bulletin 168, University of Idaho College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Moscow, Idaho.<br /> <br /> Davis, E.E. and S.A. Bosley. 2007. The Impact of the 1990s Economic Boom on Less-Educated Workers in Rural America. Journal of the Community Develoment Society 38(1): 59-73.<br /> <br /> Davis, E.E., D. Grobe, and R.B. Weber. 2007. Participation and Employment Dynamics of Child Care Subsidy Users in Rural and Urban Oregon. RPRC Working Paper 07-01, Rural Poverty Research Center.<br /> <br /> Davis, E.E. and M. Jefferys. 2007. Child Care Subsidies, Low-Wage Work and Economic Development. International Journal of Economic Development (forthcoming).<br /> <br /> Deller, Steven C and Melissa Deller. 2007. Shifting Patterns in Wisconsin Crime. Sociological Imagination 43(1): 18-51.<br /> <br /> Deller, Steven C and Victor Lledo. 2007. Amenities and Rural Appalachian Growth. Agricultural and Resource Economics Review 36(1): 107-132.<br /> <br /> Deller, Steven C. Maher, Craig and Victor Lledo. 2007. Wisconsin Local Governments, State Shared Revenues and the Illusive Flypaper Effect. Public Budgeting, Accounting and Fiscal Management 19(2): 201-221.<br /> <br /> Dwyer, J. and J.L. Findeis. 2007. Human and Social Capital in Rural Development EU and US Perspectives. Eurochoices (in press).<br /> <br /> Eades, D., D.L., Barkley, and M.S. Henry. 2007. South Carolinas Textile and Apparel Industries: An Analysis of Trends in Traditional and Emerging Sectors. UCED Research Report 12-2007-1, EDA University Center for Economic Development, Clemson University. www.clemson.edu/uced.<br /> <br /> Fallah, Belal and Mark D. Partridge. 2007. The Elusive Inequality-Economic Growth Relationship: Are there Differences between Cities and the Countryside? Annals of Regional Science, 41: 375-400.<br /> <br /> Ferguson, Mark, Kamar Ali, M. Rose Olfert, Mark D. Partridge. 2007. Voting with their Feet: Jobs Versus Amenities. Growth and Change 38(Winter): 77-110.<br /> <br /> Findeis, J.L. and S. Shresthra. 2007. Transitions Across the Rural Landscape: Human Capital Endowments and Rural Policy. Wye '07 Workshop on Rural Development Policy and Prospects, Imperial College, Wye, UK. <br /> http://rurdev.aers.psu.edu/workshop papers.htm.<br /> <br /> Gabe, Todd M. 2007. Forward: Special Issue on Opportunities and Challenges Facing the Rural Creative Economy. Agricultural and Resource Economics Review 36(1).<br /> <br /> Gabe, Todd M. 2007. Local Economic Instability and Business Location: The Case of Maine. Land Economics 83(3).<br /> <br /> Gabe, Todd M. 2007. Effects of Hollywood Slots on Bangor-Area Restaurant and Lodging Sales. School of Economics, University of Maine, Staff Paper 569.<br /> <br /> Gabe, Todd M. 2007. Market Potential for a Proposed Casino in Calais, Maine. School of Economics, University of Maine, Staff Paper 568.<br /> <br /> Gabe, Todd M., Kristen Colby and Kathleen Bell. 2007. The Effects of Workforce Creativity on Earnings in U.S. Counties. Agricultural and Resource Economics Review 36(1).<br /> <br /> Gabe, Todd M., Colleen Lynch, James McConnon and Thomas Allen. 2007. Cruisers: What They Do When They Get Off the Ship, in R. Neil Moisey and William Norman (eds.), Beating the Odds with Tourism Research. Proceedings of the 38th Annual Conference of the Travel and Tourism Research Association, Las Vegas, NV.<br /> <br /> Goetz, S.J. 2007. Self-Employment: The New Rural Reality, in Lionel Beaulieu (ed.), Rural Realities. The Rural Sociological Society (in press).<br /> <br /> Goetz, S.J. 2007. The Economic Case for State-Level Land Use Decision-Making. Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy 37(1): 20-24.<br /> <br /> Goetz, S.J. and A. Rupasingha. 2007. Determinants and Implications of Growth in Non-farm Proprietorship Densities: 1990-2000. Journal of Small Business Economics (in press).<br /> <br /> Grassmueck, G., S.J. Goetz and M. Shields. 2007. Youth Out-Migration from Pennsylvania: The Roles of Government Fragmentation vs. the Beaten Path Effect. Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy (in press).<br /> <br /> Grobe, D., R.B. Weber, and E.E. Davis. 2007. Why Do They Leave? Child Care Subsidy Use in Oregon. Journal of Family and Economic Issues (in press).<br /> <br /> Henry, M.S., D.L. Barkley, and D. Eades. 2007. The Contribution of the Textile and Apparel Cluster to the SC Economy. UCED Research Report 12-2007-02, EDA University Center for Economic Development, Clemson University. www.clemson.edu/uced.<br /> <br /> Krantz, S., J.L. Findeis, and S.S. Shrestha. 2007. The Use of the Revised Diet Quality Index for Children to Assess Preschoolers' Diet Quality, Its Sociodemographic Predictors, and Its Association with Body Weight Status. Jornal de Pediatria (forthcoming).<br /> <br /> Johnson, Thomas G. 2007. Place-Based Economic Policy: Innovation or Fad. Agricultural and Resource Economics Review (forthcoming).<br /> <br /> Johnson, Thomas G. 2007. Measuring the Benefits of Entrepreneurship Development Policy. Journal of Entrepreneurial Development (forthcoming).<br /> <br /> Leistritz, F. Larry, Nancy M. Hodur, Donald M. Senechal, Mark D. Stowers, Darold McCalla, and Chris M. Saffron. 2007. Biorefineries Using Agricultural Residue Feedstock in the Great Plains. AAE 07001. Fargo: NDSU, Department of Agribusiness & Applied Economics.<br /> <br /> Lunak, Michal and Morris, Douglas E. Morris. 2007. The Impact of Cattle Farming on the New Hampshire Economy (Abstract). Agricultural and Resource Economics Review 36( 2).<br /> <br /> Maher, Craig and Steven C. Deller. 2007. Municipal Responses to Fiscal Stress. International Journal of Public Administration 30(12): 1549 - 1572<br /> <br /> Markley, D.M., D.L. Barkley, and D. Lamie. 2007. Case Studies of E-commerce Activity in Rural and Small Town Businesses. UCED Research Report,, EDA University Center for Economic Development, Clemson University. www.clemson.edu/uced.<br /> <br /> Morris, Douglas E., Lyndon Goodridge and Mark Kilens. 2007. Linking Market-Valued Community Skill Profiles with Corporate Outsourced Functions to Identify Financially Attractive Rural Sourcing Targets( Abstract). Agricultural and Resource Economics Review 36(2).<br /> <br /> Partridge, Mark D. 2007. Rural Economic Development Prospects in a High Energy Cost Environment. Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy 37(1): 44-47. <br /> <br /> Partridge, Mark D., Ray Bollman, M. Rose Olfert and Alessandro Alasia. 2007. Riding the Wave of Urban Growth in the Countryside: Spread, Backwash, or Stagnation, Land Economics, 83(2): 128-152.<br /> <br /> Partridge, Mark, Jill Clark, and Ayesha Enver. 2007 Growth and Change: Employment Growth, Future Prospects, and Change at the Ohio Rural-Urban Interface. The Exurban Change Project and Swank Program in Rural-Urban Policy Summary Report, October. www.aede.osu.edu/programs/Swank.<br /> <br /> Partridge, Mark D. and Dan S. Rickman. 2007. Canadian Regional Evolutions: A Structural Vector Autoregression Analysis of Jobs vs. People and Labour Market Dynamics. Applied Economics (forthcoming).<br /> <br /> Partridge, Mark D. and Dan S. Rickman. 2007. CGE Modeling for Regional Economic Development Analysis. Regional Studies (in press).<br /> <br /> Partridge, Mark D. and Dan S. Rickman. 2007. Distance from Urban Agglomeration Economies and Rural Poverty. Journal of Regional Science (forthcoming)<br /> <br /> Partridge, Mark D. and Dan S. Rickman. 2007. Persistent Pockets of Extreme American Poverty and Job Growth: Is there a Place Based Policy Role? Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 32(April): 201-224.<br /> <br /> Partridge, Mark D. and Dan S. Rickman. 2007. Persistent Rural Poverty: Is it Simply Remoteness and Scale. Review of Agricultural Economics 29(Fall): 430-437.<br /> Partridge, Mark D. and Dan S. Rickman. 2007. Place-Based Policy and Rural Poverty: Insights from the Urban Spatial Mismatch Literature. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society (forthcoming).<br /> <br /> Partridge, Mark D., Dan S. Rickman, Kamar Ali and M. Rose Olfert. 2007. The Geographic Diversity of U.S. Nonmetropolitan Growth Dynamics: A Geographically Weighted Regression Approach. Land Economics (forthcoming).<br /> <br /> Partridge, Mark D., Dan S. Rickman, Kamar Ali and M. Rose Olfert. 2007 The Landscape of Urban Influence on U.S. County Job Growth. Review of Agricultural Economics 29: 381-389.<br /> <br /> Partridge, Mark, Jeff Sharp, and Jill Clark. 2007 Growth and Change: Population Change in Ohio and its Rural-Urban Interface. The Exurban Change Project and Swank Program in Rural-Urban Policy Summary Report. www.aede.osu.edu/programs/Swank.<br /> <br /> Rainey, Daniel V. and Biswaranjan R. Das. 2007. Measuring the Incidence of the New Food Tax in Arkansas: A Computable General Equilibrium Approach. Final Report to Policy Issues and Education Center.<br /> <br /> Renkow, Mitch. 2007. Employment Growth and the Allocation of New Jobs: Spatial Spillovers of Economic and Fiscal Impacts. Review of Agricultural Economics 29(3): 396-402.<br /> <br /> Renkow, Mitch. 2007. Infrastructure Investment and Rural Development, in Bruce L. Gardner and Daniel A. Sumner (eds.), The 2007 Farm Bill and Beyond: Summary for Policymakers. Washington, DC: The AEI Press, pp. 135-139.<br /> <br /> Renkow, Mitch. 2007. Infrastructure Investment and Rural Development, in Bruce L. Gardner and Daniel A. Sumner (eds.), Agricultural Policy for 2007 Farm Bill and Beyond. Washington, DC: The AEI Press (forthcoming).<br /> <br /> Renkow, Mitch. 2007. Federal Rural Infrastructure Investment: Is It Worthwhile? NC State Economist (July).<br /> <br /> Rickman, Dan S. and Mark D. Partridge 2007. Does a Rising Tide Lift All Metropolitan Boats? Assessing Poverty Dynamics by Metropolitan Size and County Type, Growth and Change (forthcoming).<br /> <br /> Rupasingha, A. and S.J. Goetz. 2007. Social and Political Forces as Determinants of Poverty. Journal of Socio-Economics 36(4): 650-671.<br /> <br /> Shrestha, S. 2007. Essays on Childhood Nutritional Deprivation in Nepal and Off-farm Employment in the United States: Multi-level and Spatial Econometric Modeling Approach. Ph.D. Dissertation. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. 215 pp.<br /> <br /> Shrestha, S. S., S.J. Goetz, and A. Rupasingha. 2007. Proprietorship Formations and US Job Growth. Review of Regional Studies (in press).<br /> Slack, T. and L. Jensen. 2007. Underemployment Across Immigrant Generations. Social Science Research 36(4): 1415-1430.<br /> <br /> Stenberg, Peter. 2007. "An Overview of the Internet and Agriculture E-Commerce in the United States," in Widi Hardjono et al (Eds.), Utilization of the Agricultural Technology Transfer and Training Networking System, APEC Secretariat, pp.128-39.<br /> <br /> Stenberg, Peter, and Mitchell Morehart. 2007. Age in the Internet Age: Is the Age of the Farm Operator a Factor in On-line Business Use. Paper presented to Telecommunication Policy Research Conference, Arlington, VA.<br /> <br /> Stenberg, Peter, and Mitchell Morehart. 2007. Spatially Dispersed Economic Actors and the Internet: Does Distance Matter?  Paper presented at the annual meeting of the RSAI, Savannah, Georgia.<br /> <br /> Stenberg, Peter, and Mitchell Morehart. 2007. "The Internet in the Farm and Rural Economic Sectors. Paper presented at the Western Regional Science Association Meeting, Newport Beach, CA.<br /> <br /> Stenberg, Peter, and Mitchell Morehart. 2007. "The Internet in U.S. Farm and Rural Businesses," in Irene Johansson (Eds.), Entrepreneurship and Development-Local Processes and Global Patterns, University West, Sweden, pp. 501-512.<br /> <br /> Trostel, Philip and Todd M. Gave. Fiscal and Economic Effects of College Attainment. School of Economics, University of Maine, Staff Paper 566. <br /> <br /> Tunceli, O. 2007. Labor Market Transitions of Involuntary Part-time Workers: How Hard is it to Get Back to Full-time Jobs? Ph.D. Dissertation. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. 173 pp.<br /> <br /> Weber, Bruce, Alexander Marre, Monica Fisher, Robert Gibbs and John Cromartie. 2007. Educations Effect on Poverty: The Role of Migration, Review of Agricultural Economics, 29(3): 437-445.<br /> <br /> Weber, Bruce A. 2007. Rural Poverty: Why Should States Care and What Can State Policy Do? Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, Vol. 37(1): 48-52, 2007.<br /> <br /> Zeuli, Kimberly and Steven C. Deller. 2007. Measuring the Local Economic Impact of Cooperatives. Journal of Rural Cooperatives 35(1): 1-17.<br />

Impact Statements

1. Oregon state and local policymakers have been intrigued by the notion of "place-based policy", and have used research conducted by NE-1011 members to develop recommendations to the Governor&lsquo;s office on "capacity-based policy" that is tailored to the needs of particular places. The findings of this research have been also discussed by policymakers (National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services convened by the US Department of Health and Human Services in February 2007).
2. Research by NE-1011 members had an impact on how the land preservation programs in New Hampshire have evolved, leading to partnerships between towns and other state or national organizations for funding to buy properties outright or obtain development rights or easements.
3. Research findings on e-commerce were included as part of the Southern Rural Development Center e-commerce training program. In addition, the e-commerce case studies were incorporated into the SC Fast Track entrepreneurial training program for new and small businesses.
4. Research conducted by NE-1011 members on factors that influence self-employment rates have been used by the SBA&lsquo;s chief economist in presentations and publications. They are being translated into extension and outreach materials for further use by community decision-makers - as a viable alternative to industrial recruitment - to help stimulate local economic development.
5. NE-1011 members conducted a study of the educational, occupational, and family formation experiences and aspirations of Hispanic youth from families in the agricultural workforce. The study has been used to enhance the capacity of Rural Opportunities, Inc., an NGO that offers programming to farm workers and other disadvantaged rural groups.
6. Research by NE-1011 members on the importance of several emerging sectors in agriculture in Colorado helped tourism, green and golf industry groups secure policies or maintain resources (water) essential to the success of the industrys growth. These reports were well received, garnered lots of publicity for the industries (and CSU as a research partner) and led to further research projects to explore tourism, potential for water efficiencies and joint marketing and public relations programs.
7. In Missouri, all state USDA B&I staff were trained in the use of the Socio-Economic Benefits Assessment System, a programs developed by NE-1011 researchers that facilitates assessment of the economic benefits of USDA-Rural Development business and industry programs.
8. In Virginia, research by NE-1011 members helped prevent landowners from making ill-advised investments in production of non-remunerative biofuel crops.

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