This report identifies local factors that foster rural economic growth. A review of the literature revealed potential indicators of county economic growth, and those indicators were then tested against data for nonmetro counties during the 1980s using multiple regression analysis. The principal variables examined included demographic and labor…

USE OF PRIVATE LAND IN RURAL AREAS FOR RECREATIONAL FACILITIES WOULD PROVIDE A NEW SOURCE OF INCOME TO THE RURAL POPULATION WHILE MEETING INCREASING RECREATIONAL NEEDS. IT IS THE ROLE OF THE EXTENSION SERVICE AT THE STATE AND LOCAL LEVELS TO EDUCATE THE RURAL POPULATION IN UTILIZATION OF RECREATIONAL RESOURCES. IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS IN…

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…

Monumental changes have occurred in the South, i.e., the loss of many farm and nonfarm residents to urban areas, farms becoming larger and more mechanized, the growth of manufacturing employment, and the narrowing of income gaps between rural and urban areas, and between the South and the non-South. Political and social changes have accompanied…