New data show small local firms create less than a third of new jobs in rural areas and are unreliable employment sources because many fail within their first 5 years of business. Local planners should consider mix of corporate affiliates offering potential of many jobs and small independent firms. (NEC)

Sierra Leone is currently emerging from a brutal civil war that lasted most of the 1990s, and now has the dubious distinction of being ranked among the world's poorest countries. As thousands of displaced people move back to their villages, a large proportion of the predominantly farm-based rural population are growing food crops for the first…

The relationship between a state's metro and nonmetro economic performance is a key consideration in determining whether a special rural development policy is appropriate for that state. This report compares the economic performance of metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas in 49 states, 1979-86. On average, metropolitan areas enjoyed higher…

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…

Among nonmetro retirement counties, those with a relatively high (over 16 percent) proportion of elderly were economically much stronger than total retirement counties. Strengths of retirement counties included rapid growth in population and employment and moderate increases in income. Potential weaknesses were reduced public spending for…

Intended for rural development practitioners and extension educators, this publication examines trends and issues in the revitalization of rural America. Chapter 1 defines community economic vitality as the capacity to ensure a flow of jobs and income over time; focuses attention on the realities of competition between communities and the…

Examines changes over a 21-year period in 1 area of highland Bolivia to show how people and their activities and livelihoods have changed as a response to increasing commercial opportunities and new needs. Analyzes the extent to which these changes imply a restructuring similar to that which is taking place in the First World. (KS)

The structure of nonmetro employment has become increasingly diverse and decreasingly agricultural. The precise policy implications of these shifts are not self-evident, but the increasingly nonagricultural character of the rural economy is at the heart of the population turnaround. (Author/KR)

Some 280 industry, education, labor, and state and local government leaders exchanged information about how Appalachian programs can harness technology to make traditional industries more competitive, package capital for job-creating industries and business, launch service industries, match education with jobs, and fit displaced workers into the…

Economies in rural areas during the 1980s were characterized by (1) fewer jobs in resource-based industries; (2) job shifts from manufacturing to services; (3) an increasing concentration of low-wage, low-skill jobs in rural areas; and (4) a growing earnings gap and outmigration of the best educated rural workers. (KS)

This paper analyzes economic trends to determine if education should be the focal point for rural economic development. According to the labor shortage/skills mismatch view, the movement toward a "service economy" will accelerate in the 1990s, increasing the number of skilled jobs and the demand for skilled workers. This…

One of several studies initiated by the Economic Research Service to provide research approaches in the problem areas of rural poverty and economic development, this study examines (1) rural activities within the context of national activities, (2) regional growth theories, (3) growth forecasting, (4) developmental programing, (5) determining a…

Small farmers are a diverse group, ranging from part-time hobbyists with good off-farm jobs to full-time operators. General rural development policies, rather than traditional farm policies, may be the best method to help those small farmers who earn insufficient income. (JHZ)

The Nation's 678 rural manufacturing-dependent counties, hit much harder than other rural counties, have since been recovering more. Total employment growth in rural manufacturing counties exceeded growth in nonmanufacturing counties by about 1 percentage point during 1982-84 and by almost 3 percentage points during 1984-86. (Author)