The revolution in telecommunications technology will be a driving force in the future economic growth of rural areas. Federal and state universal service policies requiring delivery of service to rural areas were major factors in how the telephone system evolved during the 20th century. In the 1990s, telephone penetration rates were similar for…

The causes of rural/urban educational inequalities are multiple and diverse, and their analysis requires multi-disciplinary, longitudinal research. In this Polish study, preliminary examination of macrostatistical data on rural/urban disparities revealed the limitations of dichotomous analysis. In a broad, in-depth approach designed to develop a…

Reviews employment growth in rural and small town communities, focusing on two periods, 1940-70 and 1970-80. For the rest of the 1980s, predicts a slower growth in nonmetro areas--that is, slower than in metro areas and slower than in the 1970s--yet not as slow as in the 1960s. (JHZ)

This publication presents indicators of social and economic conditions in Arkansas highlighting urban and rural differences. Initial information includes a discussion of the definition of "rural" and a display of classification schemes used to describe the regions of Arkansas. The remainder of the document contains data for 1990, state…

Leaders in 446 communities throughout North Carolina answered questionnaires designed to determine the perceived need for trained personnel in their communities. The leaders described the availability of 33 professional/occupational categories as "serious shortage", "minor shortage", "sufficient",…

Nonmetro (rural) blacks continue to lag behind metro (urban and suburban) blacks and whites of all residence categories on rates of graduation from high school and college, functional literacy, preprimary and college enrollment, and adult education. Nonmetro blacks are also less likely to be in the labor force, hold white collar jobs, or have…

Despite developmental efforts and a relatively larger population growth rate in nonmetro areas since 1970, rural/nonmetro people are still behind their metro counterparts in terms of wage levels, family income, adequacy of housing, and access to essential public services like education and health care. Rural public school education lags behind…

This paper examines social and economic forces affecting rural areas at the beginning of the 21st century and lists potential strategies to cope with those concerns. Rural development is necessary to place rural and urban areas on a more equal footing, compensate for the youth "brain drain," preserve the retirement-option value, relieve…

Whatever migration patterns evolve, changes in the age structure mean that rural communities in general can expect fairly stable elementary school population, reduced high school population, slower growth in new business and employment, and continued increase in the elderly population. (JHZ)

Examines trends in nature of work and workers' educational achievement levels in rural and urban regions. While most rural industries specialize in "routine" manufacturing, the South and West have grown in "complex" (often high-tech) manufacturing jobs. Suggests key to growth of complex jobs is worker education. (Author/TES)

The study described the patterns of government outlay to U.S. metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas for 86% of the $499 billion of federal outlays and loan guarantees made in fiscal 1978 to individual counties in the 50 states. Between metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas there were considerable variations in outlays to programs in seven…

This report examines the extent and process by which rural origins may affect socioeconomic attainments in adulthood and how these "costs" have changed during this century. Introductory sections review research and theories of rural differentiation and stratification and the history of major federal policy initiatives for rural…

This paper uses data from the Morocco Living Standard Survey in an econometric investigation of the relative effectiveness of supply- and demand-side factors in determining educational outcomes. A wide range of factors are examined that may be responsible for differences in grade completion levels and achievement among sexes, regions, and urban…

Members of the farm related population generally lag behind their nonfarm related counterparts in the number of school years completed, number of persons completing high school and college, functional literacy rates, participants in adult education, and labor force status. In 1975 White farm males trailed metro and nonmetro nonfarm males by 1.2…