Briefing Rooms

Rural Development Strategies: Recommended Readings


Overview Designing an Effective Rural Development Strategy Regional Development Programs Infrastructure Business Assistance Education and Training Amenity-Based Development Community Development Federal Funds and Development Policy Recommended Readings Recommended Data Related Links

This represents an extensive listing, but not a complete listing, of ERS research covering a wide range of rural development issues:

Designing an Effective Rural Development Policy

"Designing an Effective Rural Development Strategy," Amber Waves, November 2006. A short article describing the fundamental elements of an effective rural development strategy.

Rural Development, USDA 2007 Farm Bill Theme Paper, July 2006. Summarizes trends and conditions in rural areas, provides an overview of USDA's rural development programs, and concludes with a discussion of several alternative approaches to rural development.

Policy Options for A Changing Rural America, Amber Waves, May 2007. Discusses various policy options related to changing rural economic and demographic conditions.

Rural Economic Development: What Makes Rural Communities Grow?, AIB-737, September 1997. Reports the findings of an econometric study identifying significant factors affecting rural economic growth.

Regional Development Programs

"Transition Year Brings Changes for Rural Development," Rural America, Summer 2002. Covers recent changes in Federal legislation, taxes, and regulations affecting rural development, including a brief discussion of the 2002 farm bill provisions.

"Rural Development Policy: New Assistance for Low-Income Areas and Infrastructure," Rural America, Sep. 2001. Covers recent changes in Federal programs, taxes, and regulations, including the recently enacted New Markets and Delta Regional Authority provisions.

Resource Conservation and Development Program Reaches a Milestone, Rural America, Winter 2002. Describes the evolution of a USDA program which supports hundreds of volunteer councils that plan and implement local projects fostering community development and natural resource conservation.

Infrastructure

Broadband’s Internet Value For Rural America, ERR-78, August, 2009. Provides a model estimating effects of broadband access on rural economy, describes use of broadband in rural areas, and summarizes findings from a rural broadband workshop.

"Rural Broadband At A Glance: 2009 Edition," February 2009. Describes rural and urban use and availability of the internet and broadband, and its importance to rural people, businesses, and telemedicine.

"Internet on the Range," Amber Waves, February 2006. Uses data from the October 2003 Current Population Survey to measure the extent of rural and urban usage of the Internet.

Rural Transportation At A Glance, AIB-795, January 2005. Provides the latest information on transportation in rural America.

Infrastructure and the Food and Agricultural Economy, Pacific Economic Cooperation Council, United States Economy profile for the Pacific Food System Outlook 2005. Examines the current state of rural infrastructure and its importance of the U.S. food and agriculture industries.

Rural Governments Face Public Transportation Challenges and Opportunities, Amber Waves, Feb. 2004. Summarizes the findings of a study of the Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) program.

"Transportation in Rural America: Issues for the 21st Century," Rural America, Winter 2002. Provides a summary of various modes of transportation important for rural America, including related Federal programs and regulatory changes.

"The Nation's Inland Waterway System and Rural America," Rural America, Winter 2002. Discusses the inland waterway system and its importance as a means of transport for agriculture and the rural economy, as well as its contribution to recreation and wildlife conservation.

Economic Impact of Water/Sewer Facilities on Rural and Urban Communities, Rural America, Winter 2002. Uses data from the Economic Development Administration to examine the impacts of 54 rural and 33 urban water/sewer projects.

"Small Communities' Quest for Safe Drinking Water," Rural America, Fall 2002. Describes the challenges faced by small community drinking water systems that characterize much of rural America.

Communications & the Internet in Rural America, Agricultural Outlook, June/July 2002. Analyzes recent data on the diffusion of advanced telecommunications in rural areas and the role of Federal policy in meeting the special diffusion challenges rural areas face.

"Electric Utility Industry Restructuring: Issues for Rural America," Rural America, Spring 2002. Discusses proposals to further deregulate the electric utility industry and their potential impact on rural communities.

Highway Investment and Rural Economic Development: An Annotated Bibliography, BLA-133, Apr. 1999. Summarizes studies of the rural economic development implications of highway investment.

Rail Freight Consolidation and Rural America, RDP, June 1998. Explores the effects of consolidation in the rail freight industry on rural America.

When Rural Communities Lose Passenger Rail Service, RDP, Feb. 1997. Explores options available to communities that have lost rail service.

Business Assistance

Farm Programs, Natural Amenities, and Rural Development, Amber Waves, Feb. 2005. Separates the importance of farm programs from that of natural amenities and other local characteristics in explaining population growth over the last 25 years.

New Economy Manufacturing Meets Old Economy Education Policies in the Rural South, Rural America, March 2001. Discusses how manufacturing continues to play an important role in development of the South, and relates recent manufacturing trends with education, arguing that poor education limits participation in the New Economy.

"Nontraditional Sources of Venture Capital for Rural America," Rural America, May 2001. Uses survey data to examines different types of institutions and identify success factors.

"Value-Added Agriculture Policies Across the States," Rural America, May 2001. Asks why there aren't more value-added plants closer to farmers, and discusses State programs and policies benefiting value-added activity.

"Socioeconomic Impacts of Agricultural Processing Plants," Rural America, May 2001. Interviews in 4 North Dakota communities provide insights on impacts.

How Important is Airport Access for Rural Businesses?, Rural America, Sep. 2000. Uses information from a nationwide manufacturing survey to show how airports are more important to rural businesses than to urban businesses.

Technical Assistance Assuming Greater Role in Business Assistance Programs, RCaT, June 2000. Discusses recent changes for business assistance programs, including funding changes from 1999-2000.

Using Microenterprise Programs in the Rural United States, Rural America, Jan. 2000. Examines characteristics of 266 microenterprise programs in 1996, describes major Federal programs involved, and suggests ways to improve microenterprise program effectiveness.

Financial Markets Serve Rural Areas Reasonably Well, RDP, May 1999. Examines the role of financial markets in rural economies and how government programs influence credit allocations.

Microlending is Latest Trend in Business Assistance, RCaT, July 1999. Examines the effects of microlending programs (loans and loan guarantees for very small startup businesses), which have been among the fastest growing business assistance programs.

Rural Communities and Military Base Closures, RDP, Aug. 1998. Discusses how rural military base closures affect employment, housing, education, and the environment—three case studies show that recovery from closures have been uneven, though Federal aid has helped.

Who Benefits from Business Assistance Programs?, Sep. 1998. Examines the use of business assistance programs by respondents to the 1996 Rural Manufacturing Study.

Direct Farm Marketing as a Rural Development Tool, RDP, Feb. 1997. Presents analysis indicating that income from direct selling is relatively small and limited to communities near urban areas.

Multi-Agency Service Teams: A New Approach in Maine To Deliver Technical Assistance to Rural Manufacturers, RDP, Apr. 1999. Examines an experiment by the State of Maine to improve the coordination of technical assistance to assist wood products manufacturers.

Rural Prisons: An Update, RDP, 1996. Examines the economic effects of new prison facilities on the communities involved.

Education and Training

"College Completion Rates Rise But Nonmetro Areas Continue to Lag,” Amber Waves. April 2008. Describes college completion change from 1996 to 2006.

"Education’s Role in the Metro-Nonmetro Earnings Divide,” Amber Waves, February 2008.
Describes findings from study identifying factors explaining earnings gap.

"Education as a Rural Development Strategy," Amber Waves, Nov. 2005. Examines the relationship between workforce education and rural economic growth, and the questions faced by policymakers.

The Role of Education: Promoting the Economic and Social Vitality of Rural America, Jan. 2005. Examines how rural schools can be improved and how education affects the rural local economy and community.

"Low-Skills Jobs: A shrinking Share of the Rural Economy," Amber Waves, Nov. 2004. Describes recent changes in rural economy and the importance of education and training.

Rural Education At A Glance, RDRR-98, November 2003. Describes conditions and trends in educational achievement levels in the rural U.S.

"Low Skill Workers Are a Declining Share of All Rural Workers," Amber Waves, June 2003. Describes recent changes in the rural economy and the importance of education and training.

Rural Colleges as Catalysts for Community Change: The RCCI Experience, Rural America, Sep. 2001. Discusses how 24 sites taking part in the Rural Community College Initiative have experimented with strategic approaches to enhance development in distressed areas.

"Innovation and Replication: Can Community College Successes Be Repeated?" Rural America, Sep. 2001. Examines educational and earning status of metro/nonmetro residents in South, and argues that for earnings to improve in the region, investment in human capital must be increased.

Rural Community Colleges: Creating Educational Hybrids for the New Economy, Rural America, Sep. 2001. Discusses recent trends, achievements, characteristics, and challenges of rural community colleges.

"Educated Workforce, Quality Jobs Still Elusive Goals in the Rural South," Rural America, March 2001. Examines educational and earning status of metro/nonmetro residents in South, and argues that for earnings to improve in the region, investment in human capital must be increased.

Are Workers in the Rural South Ready for the Future, RDP, Oct. 1999. Shows how there are two Souths—one prospering and the other lagging and vulnerable—and discusses some policies to address this situation.

Amenity-Based Development

“The Two Faces of Rural Population Loss Through Outmigration,” Amber Waves, Dec. 2010. Discusses how rural outmigration has different causes and policy solutions for poor and prosperous counties, respectively.

"Scenic Landscapes Enhance Rural Growth,” Amber Waves, November 2009. Summarizes research examining amenity-based factors affecting rural growth.

"Agritourism Offers Opportunities to Farm Operators,” Amber Waves, February 2008. Summarizes findings of report examining farms that are most commonly involved in farm-based recreation in the U.S.

"Farm-Based Recreation: A Statistical Profile," December 2007. Examines factors associated with farm involvement in farm-based recreation activities.

"Arts Employment Is Burgeoning in Some Rural Areas, ” Amber Waves, Nov. 2007. Examines rural places with growing arts communities and the factors associated with such growth.

"Conservation Reserve Program Boosts Outdoor Recreation in Rural Communities,” Amber Waves, Nov. 2007. Draws on 2004 ERS study of Conservation Reserve program and other research to indicate effects on recreation in rural areas.

The Creative Class: A Key to Rural Growth. Amber Waves, April 2007. Identifies rural and urban counties that rank high in the presence of creative class workers and finds that this creative class appears to add to rural employment and population growth.

Rural Areas Benefit from Recreation and Tourism Development, Amber Waves, Sep. 2005. Summarizes findings of ERS study examining socioeconomic impacts of rural recreation and tourism development.

Recreation, Tourism, and Rural Well-Being, Aug. 2005, err-7. Analyzes the socioeconomic effects of recreation and tourism development in 311 rural counties that specialize in such development.

"Population Loss Counties Lack Natural Amenities," Amber Waves, April 2005. Describes conditions in population loss counties.

Stories Across America: Opportunities For Rural Tourism, National Trust for Historic Preservation, 2001. Describes approaches used in selected rural areas—most examples involve heritage- and amenity-based tourism, agritourism, and the use of scenic highways or seaways.

Wildlife Conservation and Economic Development in the West, RDP, Aug. 1999. Examines effect of development on wildlife in the West and Federal programs that help conserve this resource that is one of the factors attracting people and development to the region.

Quality of Life, Nontraditional Income, and Economic Growth: New Development Opportunities for the Rural West, RDP, Aug. 1999. Finds that many new migrants to the West are attracted by amenities, so policies that enhance the quality of life are most likely to attract people in a financial position to act on their preferences.

Retiree-Attraction Policies for Rural Development, AIB-741, June 1998.
Summarizes the socioeconomic and fiscal impacts of retiree attraction in rural areas, identifies the types of places that might most benefit from retiree attraction, and discusses several State policies aimed at attracting retirees to rural areas.

Community Development

"Taking the Pulse of Rural Health Care,” Amber Waves, Sept. 2009. Describes rural health conditions and policies, including telemedicine, with potential to improve such conditions.

Farmland Preservation Programs: Another Tool for Managing Urban Growth? Discusses various approaches used, the extent of farmland preserved, and research on the impacts of such programs.

One in Four Nonmetro Households are Housing Stressed, Amber Waves, November 2004. Uses the new ERS housing stress county typology code to examine where nonmetro housing stress is greatest.

Rural Homeownership Rising, Amber Waves, April 2004. Examines trends in U.S. homeownership rates, which continue to break records, particularly in rural or nonmetro areas.

Development at the Urban Fringe and Beyond: Impacts on Agriculture and Rural Land, AER-803, June 2001. Describes the forces driving development, its character and impacts on agriculture and rural communities, the means available to channel and control growth, and the pros and cons of potential Federal roles.

Several New Initiatives Provide General Assistance, RCaT, June 2000. Discusses recent funding changes (1999-2000) for a wide range of general development programs important to rural areas, including Community Development Block Grants, Economic Development Assistance, Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance, USDA's Extension activities and its Rural Development Mission programs (including its new RCDI program and several of its new initiatives), and others.

Housing Poverty in Rural Areas Greater for Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Rural America, No. 2, May 2000. Defines a new housing poverty measure and looks at how it differs between nonmetro and metro areas, and by residents' race, ethnicity, and income.

Direct Loans Open Doors to Rural Homeownership, Rural America, May 2000. Presents findings from a recent ERS survey of USDA's Section 502 Single Family Direct Loan Program.

Community Empowerment: A New Approach for Rural Development, RDP, May 1999. Explains how the Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community program operates and benefits rural areas.

Sustaining Rural Black Farming Community in the South: A Portrait of Brooks Farm, Mississippi, RDP, Apr. 1998. Discusses how members of a small community draw on the strength of their own institutions to continue to provide public services and help those who cannot help themselves.

Deadwood, South Dakota Gambling, Historic Preservation, and Economic Revitalization, RDP, Feb. 1996. Discusses local economic effects of gambling and historic preservation on Deadwood, South Dakota.

Federal Funds

"The Form of Rural Development Assistance Matters to Distressed Counties.” Amber Waves, June 2010. Discusses the three most common forms of rural development assistance (grants, direct loans, and guaranteed loans) and potential tradeoffs involved in switching from one form to another.

Geographic Targeting Issues in the Delivery of Rural Development Assistance, EIB 65. April 2010. Examines the geographic variation in receipt of USDA’s rural development assistance in 2005, and the extent to which different types of assistance (grants, direct loans, guaranteed loans, direct payments to individuals) are concentrated in distressed nonmetro areas.

"Federal Funding in Rural America Goes Far Beyond Agriculture," Amber Waves, March 2009. Provides metro/nonmetro totals by major program function in fiscal year 2005.

"Rural America At A Glance: 2008 Edition," October 2008. Provides metro/nonmetro totals by major function in fiscal year 2004.

"Federal Funding in Rural America: Who Gets What?," Amber Waves, September 2004. Summarizes important rural-urban differences in the receipt of Federal funding, by program function and region.

"Federal Funding in Nonmetro Elderly Counties," Rural America, Fall 2002. Using fiscal year 2000 data, this article examines the distribution of Federal funding in counties with a high percentage of their population over 65 years old.

"Federal Funds in Rural America: Payments Vary by Region and Type of County," Rural America, Fall 2002. Presents findings from analysis of 2000 data.

Federal Funding in Appalachia and Its Three Subregions," Rural America, Winter 2002. Examines the geographic distribution of Federal funds in Appalachia, varying by subregion.

Federal Funds in Rural America: Funding Is Less in Rural Than Urban Areas, but Varies by Region and Type of County, Rural America, Fall 2001. Examines Federal funding, per capita, including national totals by metro and nonmetro counties, plus breakouts by region and major program function.

Federal Funding in the Black Belt, Rural America, Jan. 2000. Examines the geographic distribution of Federal funds in the Black Belt of the South.

Federal Funding's Unique Role in Appalachia, RDP, May 1999. Examines the geographic distribution of Federal funds in Appalachia.

Which Federal Programs Are Most Important for the Great Plains? RDP, June 1998. Examines the geographic distribution of Federal funds in the Great Plains.

Who's Vulnerable to Federal Budget Cuts, RDP, Feb. 1996. Shows how different regions and types of rural counties are more or less reliant on different kinds of Federal programs.