The social, cultural, and economic transitions in rural areas across the globe lead us to critique the traditional "top-down" or "bottom-up" distinction as being outdated for contemporary rural policy. In Europe and the United States in particular, high rates of counterurbanization heighten the need for new ways of thinking…

During 1976, 133 former migrants representing 96 migrating units were interviewed. Through participant observation, various social contexts (villages, towns, and cities) were studied in terms of return migration. Emphasis centered on the rural context and specifically dealth with return destinations, investment behavior, problems of social…

One approach to the use of socioeconomic indicators for analyzing rural development alternative strategies is presented in this paper. The underlying assumptions of such an analysis are discussed. Necessary analytic information include (1) data on rural opinions about each facet of the socioeconomic environment and selected socioeconomic…

Compares influence of employment growth/diversity, commuting, retirement migration, income, unemployment, age structure, and adjacency with influence of nonfarm self-employment and percentage of labor force that is female on recent declines in nonmetropolitan growth rates. Suggests last two variables are more important determinants of…

An Index of Development Potential based primarily on the success communities have had in passing bond issues is suggested in this paper. Ten Texas communities were studied using an index composed of 3 measures: the ratio of bond issue success, total bond expenditure per capita, and labor force potential. A composite score was derived from these…

Agglomeration--the clustering of people, businesses, or structures within an area--is investigated for two purposes: (1) defining the nature of agglomeration and erecting a suitable agglomeration theory, and (2) suggesting further research. These two objectives are seen as being vital to help improve the economic well-being of rural people by…

The problems and advantages of locating industry in a rural setting were discussed in this conference report. The 10 individual speeches covered: changes in employment and the labor force; problems and advantages of rural locations, rural labor, and site selection; the importance of involving the Black community; the nature of the food processing…

Data on rural-urban differences in access to telecommunications technology suggest that the U.S. "digital divide" is diminishing. However, major shortcomings in telecommunications infrastructure persist in rural America, and more serious barriers to rural development are related to human capital shortages. These may be resolved in some…

Immigrants competed on a limited scale with residents for new jobs in four industrializing rural areas in Arizona, the Central Ozarks, Mississippi, and Arkansas during 1965-70. This study determined: (1) competition for jobs between residents and immigrants; (2) need for immigrants to staff industries; and (3) differences between attributes of…

During the last decade, there has been an internal migration of Latinos to the Southeast. Attracted by the rural South's healthy economy, the Hispanic population in the South is projected to double by 2025. Most in-migrants are seeking permanent rather than seasonal employment. With an increased Hispanic population comes increased purchasing…

The purpose of this paper is to analyze and evaluate the nature, scope, and implications of the rural development in the Arab countries of the Middle East and North Africa. The first section of the paper deals with the forces that have caused changes in agrarian reform policies as they affected rural development in these countries. Specifically…

A reference for program and research planning on industrialization in nonmetropolitan (rural) areas, this annotated bibliography cites U.S. case studies on social impacts caused by rural industrial growth completed between 1965 and 1974. More than 150 journal articles (written by economists, geographers, and sociologists) and research reports…

Six counties (Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Jackson, Macon, and Swain) in southwestern North Carolina have formed a planning and development commission which is legally responsible for all project approval in the area. In the document, a brief history of each county is provided in terms of what has been done in relation to the natural and human…

A distortion has grown up between urban and rural economies creating a condition where neither is able to sustain itself, thus restricting individual opportunities. At one time, 98 percent of the U.S. depended on the rural economy. Interrelated developments such as the input of ideas, enterprise, mechanical innovations, the opening of new and…