Effective rural development planning depends on facts and analysis based, not on rural averages, but on the diverse social and economic structure of rural America. Programs tailored to particular types of rural economies may be more effective than generalized programs. Because of their unique characteristics, government policies and economic…

In an effort to provide conceptual meaning to the role of residential preferences and their influence upon migration behavior in the context of a changing society, data derived from a 1973 statewide survey of Arizona heads of households (a random sample of 1,416 people) were analyzed in terms of: (1) residential preference and spatial proximity to…

Utilizing 178 case study documents on U.S. plant locations in the rural Midwest and South between 1945 and 1974, consideration was given to the impact of industrial development on population dynamics, private and public sectors, and the quality of well being in the host communities. Thirty-one empirical generalizations were derived from the…

Describing issues relative to economic development in nonmetropolitan areas, this document presents narrative and tabular data re: (1) the causal forces behind economic decline in rural America (technology, shifting patterns of demand for goods and services, and changes in life styles and residential preferences); (2) the incidence and indicators…

This handbook is an easy-to-use reference book for policymakers, public officials, and policy analysts, as well as anyone else who may need up-to-date information about state economic, demographic, and fiscal data. The book includes data on demographics, poverty rates, per capita state personal income, state and local tax rates, and state and…