A survey of 505 low-income nonmetropolitan families found that participation in informal work activities was widespread; was not related to poverty status; contributed little to family income on average but helped families weather difficult times; was motivated both economically and noneconomically; and, net of other sociodemographic variables,…

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…

This report describes an expanded and revised version of the Economic Research Service's 1979 classification of nonmetro counties, commonly called the ERS typology. The classification has been widely used by researchers, policy analysts, and public officials as a source of information about the economic and social diversity characterizing rural…

Seventeen papers review recent changes in the structure and performance of the rural economy and examine alternative policies to facilitate the adjustment of displaced people and their communities. Some point to economic structural change in the 1980s as the cause of financial stress in rural America, in sharp contrast with the 1970s when growth…

The purposes of the National Rural Studies Committee (NRSC) are to develop a comprehensive and coherent framework for viewing rural area problems, and to provide legitimacy for rural studies as an academic field of specialization. This first NRSC meeting focused on the picture of rural America drawn in American literature, the nature of employment…

Reviews historical patterns in the employment of rural women and explains the policy implications of their unique labor market experiences. Analyzes current differences between rural and urban female employment, emphasizing the narrow range of occupations open to rural women and their resulting employment deprivation and vulnerability to poverty.…

Graphs, data tables, maps, and written descriptions give a statistical overview of rural Pennsylvania. A section on rural demographics covers population changes, racial and ethnic makeup, age cohorts, and families and income. Pennsylvania's rural population, the nation's largest, has increased more than its urban population since 1950, with the…

Using state education agency, census, industry employment and occupational information data, this paper provides a detailed picture of a rural school district in Southern Illinois. Mining and agriculture are the major industries in Hamilton County. The major mining employer closed in February 1988, and the drought of 1988 is likely to adversely…

In the period from 1950 to 1970, there were 298 persistent low-income (PLI) counties in the United States, but between 1970 and 1975, 43 counties left the persistent low-income status (LPLI) due to private sector influence and earnings from mining and agriculture. LPLI counties were largely located in Georgia, Arkansas, and Kentucky. Most PLI…

Although earnings generally increased in rural areas in the 1990s, Hispanic population growth led to lower wages for at least one segment of the rural population--workers with a high school degree (skilled workers), particularly men in this skill group. Using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Current Population Survey, this report…

Most of the nonmetropolitan poor live in a household with at least one worker. In 1987, 70% of nonmetro poor family heads who were not ill, disabled, or retired worked for at least part of the year, and 24% worked full time, year-round. The employed proportion of the poor was significantly larger in nonmetro than metro areas. Despite a lengthy…

Census data and mailed questionnaires were used to test three hypotheses about unemployment impacts: labor-market infusion, labor-market overload; and a balance of positive and negative impacts differing with occupational status. Results showed that blue-collar persons--both newcomers and long-term residents--experienced much higher unemployment…

The five volumes of Rural Conditions and Trends for 1990-1994 contain information and statistical data on economic and social conditions and trends of interest to rural educators and researchers. Articles cover the following areas: macroeconomic trends; employment; unemployment; industry; earnings; income; poverty; population; national economic…

This book includes studies of globalization-related social changes in rural areas of the United States and other countries and implications of these studies for sociological theory. Although no chapter focuses exclusively on education, education-related themes include rural school dropouts and intergenerational poverty, the migration of rural…

Stressing the provision of services to migrants and seasonal farmworkers in keeping with the U.S. District Court Order requiring and quantitatively proportionate service to this labor segment, the Rural Manpower Service provided a comprehensive program of service to all rural elements in Louisiana. Working in close conjunction with the Service was…