Dichotomous poverty is defined by taking an arbitrary standard of consumption capability as a dividing line between rich and poor. An investigation into dichotomous poverty below the 2000 dollar level will be worthwhile, since, in 1953, the Planning Board announced as a goal the attempt to lift all families above this margin. In 1953, 78 percent…

The decline of agriculture in the 1920s and 1930s was compounded by the subsequent collapse of the rural social community, leaving the rural poor without a community and thus exacerbating and prolonging their poverty. Present restructuring of agriculture in the United States may have a similar impact on rural communities. (JHZ)

This report discusses trends affecting the future of rural development in Kentucky and describes strategies for leveraging more positive outcomes for rural communities. In addition to the enduring legacies of rural poverty, inadequate infrastructure, low educational attainment, and joblessness, contemporary rural Kentucky is also characterized by…

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…

There is no present consensus regarding long-term consequences of rural industrialization on society. Since 1950, smaller rural communities in the South and Southwestern United States have gained in industrialization due to their generally low-wage non-union labor supply and lower tax structure, both attractive to industry seeking greater profits.…