Problems associated with rural economic development--involving maldistributions of population, income, and employment--suggest the need for statistical indicators of rural area growth and development. Development problems are not usually aligned geographically with the boundaries of a city, county, or state, but multicounty units of observation…

A framework for constructing a set of statistical economic and social indicators for rural development is discussed in this paper. Operational definitions are presented for economic development, economic growth, rural, and rural development. The framework for identifying economic and social indicators can be adapted to quantify most existing…

Around 1,000 rural and semi-rural counties are suffering from decreased demand for farm labor and the lack of new nonfarm jobs, resulting in underemployment, low income, frustration, and out-migration. Manpower policies dealing with the economic opportunity of residents of rural, nonfarm areas often overlook two important aspects of the problem:…