Describes U.S. Department of Agriculture programs and services authorized by Title VII (Rural Development) of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996. Four agencies within the Rural Development Mission Area provide funding, technical assistance, and training to rural communities to develop utilities, housing, businesses, new…

Describes the California Community Colleges' goal to advance the state's economic growth through quality economic development programs. Discusses the importance of assessment and presents the results of an outcome evaluation, stating that California will collect $1.42 in taxes over the next 10 years for every dollar it spent on economic…

Analysis of annual county-level migration estimates indicates that in recent decades, migrants to the rural South have persistently favored areas with specific attractions: urban access, high-tech jobs, and favorable climates. As migrants are younger and better educated than the overall population, such patterns exacerbate rural development…

Describes activities developed by the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University and the Illinois State Library to prepare librarians for a new role in local economic development. Discusses results of a survey on library support for community development in terms of services and business materials collections. (AEF)

Describes a school in Botswana that was an experiment in educational reform that sought to link education and the economic development of emerging countries. Discusses implementation of ideals and examines the relation between education and development. (JOW)

Conventional wisdom that non-college-bound students are deficient in employability skills fails to consider labor market instability and job accessibility for low-income youth. School-to-work transition, job creation, and community building in urban areas can be enhanced through entrepreneurship education. (SK)

Provides comments by Nobel laureate Paul A. Samuelson, Harold W. McGraw Jr., William D. Nordhaus, Orley Ashenfelter, Robert M. Solow, and Stanley Fischer on Samuelson's introductory textbook "Economics," as presented at the 1998 American Economic Association meetings in Chicago (Illinois). (CMK)

Explores the 1998 reforms of the further education and training system in the context of educational and economic transformation in South Africa. Examines the further education and training (FET) policy. Focuses on the attempts by South Africa to transform its education and training system at the post-compulsory, pre-tertiary level. Includes…

Takes issue with the assumptions that training and productivity are causally related, skill development leads to economic growth, and vocational education serves the interests of employers, government, and workers. Argues that training discourse is aimed at reasserting the dominance of capital over labor. (Contains 40 references.) (SK)

The transformation of San Diego's economy to a research and high-tech focus had three critical influences: (1) supply of intellectual capital; (2) catalytic business and financial networks; and (3) breadth and depth of advanced skills and knowledge. Clusters of research institutions partnered with technology-focused networks to provide these key…

Reviews the current status of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), characteristics of Mexico's business culture and economy, and ways to change business education to prepare students for doing business in Latin America. Concludes with a description of the NAFTA business center at the University of Northern Colorado. (SK)

Eight challenges for rural vocational education in community colleges include (1) inadequate state funding; (2) higher professional development costs; (3) higher business costs; (4) difficulty assessing labor market needs; (5) flooding the market with graduates; (6) focus on preserving local culture; (7) difficulty launching new programs; and (8)…

Reviews educational and economic trends impacting rural community colleges and their mission. Discusses nine overarching goals that should drive the latest reinvention of rural community colleges--goals related to the facilitation of further education, lifelong learning, learning communities, regional planning, workforce problem-solving skills,…

Examines prospects for rural areas within the Information Society, referring particularly to the European Union. Discusses effects of diminished distance from core markets, increased learning capacity through improved access to information, public policy emphasis on building infrastructure, disappointing outcomes for telecommunications initiatives…

Examines the effect that the presence of national elections has on government respect for a category of human rights known as physical integrity rights. Analyzes 74 countries at three points in time (1981, 1984, and 1987). Finds that the presence of national elections has no effect on government respect for physical integrity rights. (CMK)