The public welfare agency is a major influence in rural community life. It is the service delivery mechanism for medical care, cash aid, food stamps, and many other kinds of life-or-death assistance. It is significant in local economies and its employees are influential in communities where well-educated people are scarce. (JHZ)

This study deals with the structural interrelationships among agricultural sub-sectors, and between the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors of the West Virginia economy. The study is intended to offer information on which to base sound economic development decisions. An input-output economic model is used in order to focus on the interaction…

The rural economy has performed badly during the 1980s. While the recession of the early 1980s was responsible for much of the trouble, the slow rural recovery demonstrates the fundamental hurdles facing the rural economy. Central among these are economic disadvantages, including remote locations isolating rural producers from their markets, low…

This learning guide is designed to accompany the 29-minute, color, educational documentary, "Merchant People: Pride, Power, and Belief," a film which depicts how nine rural West Virginia small business proprietors think and feel about their work and life. It contains a description of the film setting, complete transcript of film…

Describes West Virginia's Community Work Experience Program, a work requirement program for public assistance recipients. Examines issues workfare raised in a rural context, explains why West Virginia avoided the controversy usually associated with such programs, and notes benefits including improved images for welfare workers, recipients, and…

The manufacturing industry's areal and structural growth trends were analyzed for insights into their possible future role in Appalachia's economy. Between 1950 and 1960, total manufacturing employment expanded in large-, medium-, and small-center population areas, in rates inverse to center size. However, absolute gains in employment were…

This thesis examines the ways in which rural schools support or undermine rural community viability in the United States. Beginning in the late 19th century, the diverse people of the United States came under the power of a single ideology of modernization and the superiority of urban culture. This ideology has resulted in the American transition…