Questions "supply-push" theory of rural development, which suggests that upgrading workers' skills will guarantee rural development. Data from past two decades show tendency of decreasing growth in job skills and in requirement for quantifiable job skills (e.g., level of education). Upgrading job skills by itself seems unlikely to pay…

Analysis of effects of local educational levels on employment growth found that growth benefits of higher schooling levels during the 1970s were 14 times greater for metro than nonmetro commuting zones. During the 1980s, higher education levels did not significantly affect employment growth in metro or nonmetro zones; higher dropout rates were…

Rural southern Georgia's economic growth in 1976-81 improved employment and income for Whites but had little effect on Blacks. The percentage of employed Blacks declined, their weeks of work per year dropped, and most remained in low-skill, low-wage occupations. Blacks had lower levels of experience, training, and schooling than Whites. (JHZ)

Current Population Survey data indicate that in 1991, only 40% of rural workers had received training on current jobs. Less educated, minority, and Southern rural workers were particularly unlikely to receive training. The nonmetropolitan training rate rose modestly, 1983-91, but less rapidly than the metropolitan rate, suggesting that fewer rural…

Areas of the West with natural amenities enjoyed growing populations and income levels in the 1990s, mostly from inmigration of people with self-employment or investment income. These were usually young, well-educated professionals in service industries. Rural communities with policies that enhance quality of life (better schools, environmental…

This special theme issue reports key results from a comprehensive assessment of skill development among the rural workforce and of rural education and job training in rural areas. This comprehensive assessment had three goals: to develop better measures of rural skills than were previously available, to identify human capital initiatives that…