Emergence of a dual agricultural system, need for sophisticated knowledge and equipment, declining importance of labor, and geographic and organizational concentration of the production and processing of certain commodities are creating changes in rural communities. While some changes will have negative social/economic impacts, the importance of…

Despite increased government investments in education, West Virginia continues to have one of the nation's highest high school dropout rates and is among the states with the highest unemployment rates. Human capital theory provides the conceptual basis for evaluating the relationship between investment in education and economic development. An…

Consequences of population turnaround for rural economic development are examined in a 9-county region of Northern Lower Michigan. Data from census reports and 374 usable responses to a questionnaire mailed to a random sample of property owners drawn from 1982 county tax assessment rolls were used to test competing hypotheses about rural…

Knowledge of major economic forces shaping the future of rural America provides insights about the likely importance and effectiveness of various broad program alternatives as components of a rural development policy. The rural economic base was transformed during the 1960s and 1970s from a primary dependence on natural resource activities,…

A study of the process of a 1977-1983 oil and gas boom in Caldwell, Texas, disproved the assumption that local social effects of rapid energy development are severe and negative. Using interviews, surveys, observation, local newspapers, and other writings as data sources, researchers determined that during the boom, Caldwell's population grew…

To explain the migration turnaround of the 1970s, it has been suggested that the United States may be approaching an equilibrium state in the exchange of populations between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. As metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas have become more similar in population composition and industrial and socioeconomic…

In 1979 a stratified random sampling of 541 families in 4 rural Virginia counties were interviewed about major occupations, secondary occupations, travel to work, and whether the division of labor within the county allowed for a complete exchange system. Data, compared to 1940 census statistics, indicated that a significant change in occupational…

Analysis of census data indicates major population, industrial, and occupational changes occurred in many of Texas' 254 counties from 1960 to 1980. While 103 counties experienced rapid population growth by both natural and migration, patterns of change were dissimilar. Population grew steadily in metropolitan counties over the two decades.…

Trends in employment in West Germany evolved from analysis of a rural youth survey based on interviews from 1955, 1968, and 1980. Persons surveyed were from 17 to 28 years of age and lived in settlements of 5,000 inhabitants or less. During the time period (1955-1980), the youth employment rate decreased from 74% to 67%. Agricultural jobs…

Developing nations could greatly improve the quality of life in rural areas by adequately involving women in agricultural extension and training programs. Policy objectives of many developing countries neglect the contributory role of girls and women and often constrain them from seizing opportunities for individual development. In Nigeria, the…

The U.S. agricultural labor market is already, in many respects, a binational one, and it will become increasingly one in which workers who are born in Mexico will follow a variety of worklife trajectories that take them back and forth between both countries. Recognition of this reality has important implications for policy development and program…