Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Annual Accomplishment Highlights:

In 2015, researcher of NE-1049 has made steady progress in the two primary research areas: local/regional foods and Community Resilience and Natural/Human-Made Disasters.

Objective 1 - Local / Regional Foods:

The team of researchers associated with NE-1049 are conducting various researches analyzing the local/regional food systems from different perspectives.

Researchers in Colorado evaluate the role of small and mid-size farms and their impacts in local and regional food systems, as well as the rural economic impacts of local food systems. Collaborating researchers in University of California at Davis and University of Northern Colorado, they are exploring an integrated approach to agritourism development in the western US.

Researchers in New Hampshire are awarded a new project from NIFA to assess the potential for local food production and the constraints faced by suppliers of produce grown in northern New England, Main, New Hampshire and Vermont. They are in the process of identifying local produce with the highest probability of profitable production, and examining consumer preferences for local produce and the premium these products command.

Researchers in Idaho investigates the local food system by examining the role of intermediaries in the food system. They are currently conducting a survey on restaurants and stores in order to examining the role of intermediaries in local food system.

Researchers in Oregon and Missouri examined how state policy shapes food stamp participation rates. Using unique detailed administrative data for the 2003-2010 period, they find that while the recession led to increased need and SNAP participation in both states, state differences in pre-recession program policies and efforts to enroll and retain eligible participants provide a plausible explanation for lower exit rates and longer spell durations in Oregon. The project highlights how decisions made by state lawmakers and agencies directly influence the lives of low-income people in various states. These are not economic forces at work, but are instead decisions by state actors who undoubtedly interpret the goals and meaning of these programs very differently from party to party, state to state.

Researchers in North Carolina investigated the impact of USDA Broadband Loan Programs on the agricultural industry using county-level data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The analysis confirms that these programs have indeed benefitted the agricultural sector: (1) Receipt of USDA broadband loans is positively associated with a larger fraction of farms using high-speed internet, but only in rural counties adjacent to metro counties. (2) Compared to non-recipient counties, counties that received USDA broadband loans have enjoyed 11.2 to 17.3 percent greater farm revenues, 6.6 to 9.6 percent greater total farm expenditures, 4.6 to 7.7 percent greater farm profits. (3) In terms of the distribution of these effects across sub-sectors, both livestock and crop sales have increased in broadband recipient counties. However, the evidence also suggests that impacts on the livestock sector have effectively disappeared with changes made between the Pilot and current programs, whereas positive impacts on crop sales have remained quite stable across both programs. (4) The benefits of the Pilot Broadband Loan program were smaller in relatively remote rural counties not adjacent to metro counties than in either metro counties or rural counties adjacent to metro counties.

Researchers in Ohio investigate the importance of human capital formation, improved local economic development policymaking and efforts to promote best-case energy development from unconventional energy resources.

Researchers in Pennsylvania conduct word network analysis and illustrate how Extension has framed the discussion of agriculture. They also show that Extension saved more than 100,000 farms since 1980s and around 500,000 farms over 100 years. It has helped the expansion of businesses and rural population.

Researchers in Colorado acquired a Cooperative Agreement with the USDA-Ag Marketing Service to develop a toolkit to assess the Outreach, Training and Proof of Concept of USDA AMS Economic Impact Assessment. They also started to examine market channel for Colorado fruit and vegetable growers.

Objective 2 – Community Resilience and Natural / Human-made Disasters:

Researchers in NE-1049 actively investigating the differences in community resilience to social-economic, political and natural shocks, as well as factors contributing to such differences.

Researchers in Ohio, Idaho, Oregon and Missouri investigated how community characteristics may affect its resilience. Researchers in Ohio focus the key importance of human capital, local innovation and entrepreneurship for regional development and its relationship with regional resilience and resistance. Researchers in Idaho look at the relationship between community capitals and economic resilience. Researchers in Oregon examine the relationship between income inequality and resilience. Researcher sin Missouri find that citizen co-production of infrastructure in Thailand and find that higher quality infrastructure can be produced in a timelier manner using private contractors given the organizing ability of the community. This echoes the findings by Elinor Ostrom.

NE-1049 researchers in Maine, Oregon, New Jersey and Pennsylvania investigate the resilience of rural communities against local and regional shocks. The researchers in Maine look into the health of forest product industry, forest management issues and the economic trajectories of natural resource dependent communities in Maine. The researchers in Oregon look into the impact of federal forest policy change on rural income. Researchers in New Jersey investigate the community resilience by looking into the disaster preparedness. Researchers in Oregon are also conducting research on the regional income impact of natural disasters. Researchers in Pennsylvania examine economic resilience by analyzing the economic performance during the economic recession.

Researchers in Missouri and Wisconsin and a colleague at the University of Nebraska-Omaha investigated the impact of tax and expenditure limitations (TELS) on government resiliency as measured in 1) state fiscal reserves and 2) state credit ratings and the structure of government. Their preliminary results suggest that formation of various types of local governments does not appear to be a way to circumvent TEL restrictions. They also find that TELs that restrict expenditures increase state government bond ratings, while those that restrict revenues decrease bond ratings. Thirdly, state TELs could be hindering state capacity to react to fiscal shocks. Finally, more restrictive TELs imposed on municipalities by the states have a weak negative impact on city credit ratings

Researchers in North Carolina investigate the impact of broadband on local communities at county and zip code level. They find that broadband provision had no significant impact on county employment rate between 2008 and 2010. However, the USDA broadband loans program between 2000 and 2008 successfully disbursed loans to target locations (i.e., sparsely populated and under-served rural communities). Loan receipt led to modest, but statistically significant, increases in broadband availability as indicated by increases in number broadband service providers.

Other Significant Accomplishments:

Awards:

1. Dr. Steven Deller is selected as Fellow of Mid-Continent Regional Science Association. 2015.
2. Dr. Alessandra Faggian receives the Geoffrey Hewings Award 2015 by the North American Regional Science Council (NARSC).
3. Dr. Steven Goetz, National Academies of Sciences, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, Member of the Committee on National Statistics: Rationalizing Rural Classifications for the Economic Research Service, Jan. 2015 – present.
4. Best Book Award for 2015 by Regional Studies Association, United Kingdom: Territorial Cohesion in Rural Europe: The Relational Turn in Rural Development. Andrew Copus and Philomena de Lima (eds.). Regional Studies Association Series Regions and Cities, No. 76. Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group. Researchers in Missouri contributed a chapter: Kelrick, Pamela, Thomas G. Johnson, and Judith I. Stallmann. 2014. “Territorial Cohesion: US and Canadian Perspectives on the Concept.”

The list of publications is incomplete because it is not based on station reports but based on CV’s of participants of the 2015 annual meeting that are available online.

Peer-reviewed Publications:

Abreu, M., Faggian A. and McCann P. 2015, “Migration and inter-industry mobility of UK graduates”, Journal of Economic Geography, Vol. 15, Issue 2, pp. 353-385 (ISI 5-year Impact Factor 5.025)
Betz, Michael, Mark D. Partridge and Belal Fallah. (2015, early view) “Smart Cities and Attracting Knowledge Workers: What Cities Attract Highly Educated Workers in the 21st Century?” Papers in Regional Science. DOI: 10.1111/pirs.12163.
Betz, Michael, Michael Farren, Linda Lobao, and Mark D. Partridge. 2015. “Coal Mining, Economic Development, and the Natural Resources Curse.” Energy Economics. (50), 105-116.
Betz, MD Partridge, M Farren, L Lobao. 2015 Coal mining, economic development, and the natural resources curse, Energy Economics 50, 105-116.
Betz, MD Partridge, B Fallah. 2015. Smart cities and attracting knowledge workers: Which cities attract highly‐educated workers in the 21st century? Papers in Regional Science
Biagi, B., Faggian, A. and Percoco M. 2015. “Identità territoriale e migrazioni: prime evidenze empiriche per l’Europa”, Annali del Dipartimento di Metodi e Modelli per l’Economia, il Territorio e la Finanza, Università della Sapienza di Roma, pp. 95-112
Beam, A.L., D.D. Thilmany, R.W. Pritchard, L.P. Garber, and F.J. Olea-Popelka. 2015. Economic and animal health implications of distance to slaughter, markets, and feed sources used by small-scale food animal operations in the United States. Renewable Ag and Food Systems.
Chen,Y,  Bruce Weber and David Lewis. (forthcoming).  Conservation Land Amenities and Regional Economies: A Post-Matching Difference-in-Differences Analysis of the Northwest Forest Plan. Journal of Regional Science
Comunian, C., Faggian A. and Jewell S. 2015, “Digital technology and the creative industries: the role of human capital”, The Journal of Education and Work, pp. 1-23., 10.1080/13639080.2014.997683.
Costanigro, M., O. Deselnicu, O. and D. Thilmany. 2015. Product differentiation via corporate social responsibility: consumer priorities and the mediating role of food labels. Agriculture and Human Values. Forthcoming.
Deller, Steven C. 2015. “Is Regional Science the Embodiment of the Engaged University?” Review of Regional Studies. 45(1):1-13.
Deller, Steven C., Canto, Amber and Brown, Laura. 2015. “Rural Poverty, Health and Food Access.” Regional Science Policy and Practice. 7(2):61-74.
Edwards, Mark, Colleen Heflin, Peter Mueser, Suzanne Porter and Bruce Weber. 2015. The Great Recession and SNAP Caseloads: A Tale of Two States. Journal of Poverty 20 (3): 261-277.
Faggian, A., Corcoran J. and Rowe F. 2015, “Evaluating the effects of federal policy changes on human capital: The role of a graduate visa scheme”, Environment and Planning C (ISI 5-year Impact Factor 1.386), in print.
Franklin, R. and Faggian A. 2015, “College Student Migration in New England: Who Comes, Who Goes, and Why We Might Care”, The Northeastern Geographer, in print.
Goetz, S.J., M. Davlasheridze and Y. Han 2015 “County-Level Determinants of Mental Health, 2002-2008,” Social Indicators Research, doi: 10.1007/s11205-014-0792-6.
Keene, Ashleigh and Deller, Steven C. 2015. “Evidence of the Environmental Kuznets’ Curve Among US Counties and the Impact of Social Capital.” International Review of Regional Science. 38(4): 358-387.
Mann, John and David Shideler. 2015. “Measuring Schumpeterian activity using a composite indicator.” Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, 4(1): 57-84. Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10.1108/JEPP-07-2013-0029; named by the editors as “Outstanding Paper in 2015”
Onozaka, Y, W. Hu and D. Thilmany. 2015. Can Eco-Labels Reduce Carbon Emissions? Market-Wide Analysis of Carbon Labeling and Locally Grown Fresh Apples. Renewable Ag and Food Systems.
Partridge, Mark D., Dan S. Rickman, M. Rose Olfert, and Ying Tang. 2015 “When Spatial Equilibrium Fails: Is Place-Based Policy Second Best?” Regional Studies. (49): 1303-1325. DOI: 10.1080/00343404.2013.837999.
Partridge, Mark D. Dan S. Rickman, M. Rose Olfert, and Ying Tang. 2015 “U.S. Regional Poverty Post-2000: The Lost Decade.” Economic Development Quarterly. (29): 38-48.
Peek, Gina G., Larry D. Sanders, Dave Shideler, Shannon L. Ferrell, Chad J. Penn, Todd Halihan. “Framing a Public Issue for Extension: Challenges in Oil and Gas Activity.” Journal of Extension, 53(5: October).Rupasingha, Anil, Yongzheng Liu, and Mark D. Partridge. (2015) “Rural Bound: Determinants of Metro to Non-Metro Migration in the U.S.” American Journal of Agriculture Economics, 97: 680-700. DOI: 10.1093/ajae/aau113.
Stephens, Heather and Mark D. Partridge. (2015) “Lake Amenities, Environmental Degradation, and Great Lakes Regional Growth.” International Regional Science Review. (31): 61-91.
Thilmany, D. 2015. The Role of Economics in Multifunctional Food Supply Chains. Invited Paper to the Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
Thilmany McFadden, D. 2015. What Do We Mean by “Local Foods”? CHOICES.
Winkler, Richelle, Deller, Steven C. and Marcouiller, David W. 2015. “Recreational Housing and Community Development: A Triple Bottom Line Approach.” Growth and Change. 46(3):481-500.
Watson, P., S Cooke, D Kay, G Alward, 2015. A Method for Improving Economic Contribution Studies for Regional Analysis, Journal of Regional Analysis & Policy 45 (1): 1-15.
Winfree, JA, P Watson. 2015. Substitution of liquor sales across states, Applied Economics Letters 22 (11), 891-894
Wrenn, DH, EG Irwin. 2015. Time is money: An empirical examination of the effects of regulatory delay on residential subdivision development. Regional Science and Urban Economics 51, 25-36

 
Other Publications:

Bauman, A., D. Thilmany, B. Jablonski, and D. Shideler. Smart Marketing: An Evolving Classification Scheme of Local Food Business Models. Cornell Food Industry Management April Smart Marketing article. April 2015.
Conroy, Tessa, and Deller, Steven C. 2015. "Women Business Leaders across Wisconsin 1990-2011." Patterns of Economic Growth and Development Study Series No. 2. Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin – Madison/Extension.
Conroy, Tessa, and Deller, Steven C. 2015. “Where are Wisconsin’s Business Leaders?” Patterns of Economic Growth and Development Policy Brief Series No. 2. Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin – Madison/Extension.
Deller, Steven, Judith I Stallmann and Craig Maher.  “The Impact of Tax and Expenditure Limits on Moody’s Credit Ratings for Cities.”  Southern Regional Science Association, Mobile, Alabama.  March 27-19, 2015.
Halstead, John and Deller, Steven C. (eds). 2015. Social Capital at the Community Level: An Applied Interdisciplinary Perspective. London: Routledge Publishing.
Markeson, Bjorn, and Deller, Steven C. (2015). "Social Capital, Communities, and the Firm." In Halstead, John and Deller, Steven C. (eds). Social Capital at the Community Level: An Applied Interdisciplinary Perspective. London: Routledge Publishing.
Halstead, John M., and Steven C. Deller. (2015). "Social Capital and Community Development." In Halstead, John and Deller, Steven C. (eds). Social Capital at the Community Level: An Applied Interdisciplinary Perspective. London: Routledge Publishing.
Halstead, John M., and Steven C. Deller. (2015). "What Do We Know? And Where Do We Go From Here?" In Halstead, John and Deller, Steven C. (eds). Social Capital at the Community Level: An Applied Interdisciplinary Perspective. London: Routledge Publishing.
Lewin, Paul; and Brown, Anna. 2015. Measuring United States County-Level Economic Resilience to a Recession. In Agricultural & Applied Economics Association Annual Conference. San Francisco, CA
Lewin, Paul; and Brown, Anna. 2015. Economic Resilience. In The Water-Food-Energy-Climate Nexus: An Emerging Challenge for Rural Policy sponsored by the International Comparative Rural Policy Studies (ICRPS) Consortium, the Rural Policy Research Institute and the Rural Policy Learning Commons. Memphis, TN
Lowatcharin, Grichawat and Judith I. Stallmann.  "Missouri State and Local Spending:  A Fifty-state Comparison for 2012."  Missouri Extension, MP760. September, 2015.  http://extension.missouri.edu/p/mp760
Lowatcharin, Grichawat and Judith I. Stallmann.  "Missouri State and Local Taxes and Revenues: A Fifty-state Comparison for 2012."  Missouri Extension, MP761.  September 2015.   http://extension.missouri.edu/p/mp761
Maher, Craig Judith I Stallmann and Steven Deller.  “The Effects of TELs on State Fiscal Reserves.”  Western Social Science Association Annual Conference.   Portland, Oregon.  April 8-11, 2015. 
Peek, Gina, Chad Penn, Larry Sanders, Dave Shideler and Shannon Ferrell. “The Oil and Gas Boom: Basic Information about Oil and Gas Activities for Extension Professionals.” 2015. Journal of Extension, 53(3: June). Available at: http://www.joe.org/joe/2015june/tt3.php
Stallmann, Judith I., Steven C. Deller and Craig S. Maher.  “Tax and Expenditure Limitations and Local Government Structure.”  North American Regional Science Association, Portland, Oregon.  November 12-14, 2015.
Stallmann, Judith I., Steven Deller, Craig Maher and Lindsay Amiel.  “State Credit Ratings and Tax and Expenditure Limitations.”  Truman School of Public Affairs seminar, University of Missouri-Columbia.   March 13, 2015.
Lowatcharin, Grichawat and Judith I. Stallmann.  "Missouri State and Local Spending:  A Fifty-state Comparison for 2012."  Missouri Extension, MP760. September, 2015.  http://extension.missouri.edu/p/mp760
Lowatcharin, Grichawat and Judith I. Stallmann.  "Missouri State and Local Taxes and Revenues: A Fifty-state Comparison for 2012."  Missouri Extension, MP761.  September 2015.   http://extension.missouri.edu/p/mp761
Thilmany McFadden, D., W. Peters Moschetti and the Colorado Food Systems Advisory Council. COFSAC 15-01. Preparing for Food Security in an Age of Limited Natural Resources Part I: Water. CSU DARE Food Systems Issue Brief. August 2015.
Thilmany McFadden, D., W. Peters Moschetti and the Colorado Food Systems Advisory Council. COFSAC 15-02. Preparing for Food Security in an Age of Limited Natural Resources Part II: Land Use. CSU DARE Food Systems Issue Brief. August 2015
Thilmany McFadden, D., W. Peters Moschetti and the Colorado Food Systems Advisory Council. COFSAC 15-03. Preparing for Food Security in an Age of Limited Natural Resources Part III: Energy. CSU DARE Food Systems Issue Brief. June 2015.
Thilmany McFadden, D., W. Peters Moschetti and the Colorado Food Systems Advisory Council. COFSAC 15-04. Barriers & Opportunities for Healthy Food Recovery from Grocery Retail to Hunger Relief Organizations. CSU DARE Food Systems Issue Brief. August 2015.
Thilmany McFadden, D., D. Conner, S. Deller, D. Hughes, K. Meter, A. Morales, T. Schmit, D. Swenson, A. 7 Bauman, M. Phillips Goldenberg, R. Hill, B. B.R. Jablonski and D. Tropp. 2015. The Economics of Local Food Systems: A Toolkit to Guide Community Discussions, Assessments and Choices U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service Report. Forthcoming.