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Feature articles in this issue:

• Lone Eagles and High Fliers in Rural Producer Services. by William B. Beyers and David P. Lindahl. Producer service firms are growing rapidly in rural areas. Included in this expansion are "Lone Eagles" export-oriented sole proprietors and "High Fliers" export-oriented companies with at least one employee. Interviews with 240 rural producer service firms located in a diverse sample of rural counties show that about 40 percent of the businesses are Lone Eagles or High Fliers. They are located in rural areas for quality-of-life reasons and are founded by highly educated people who have "niche" market business concepts that pay off in relatively high sales per worker. Face-to-face communication remains a very important means of delivering their services, but advanced information technologies are also important.
• Computer Use by Rural Workers is Rapidly Increasing. by Lorin D. Kusmin. The percentage of rural workers who use computers on the job doubled from 18 in 1984 to 36 in 1993, yet the percentage of urban workers using computers remains higher. Most of the difference in on-the-job computer use between urban and rural areas reflects greater use among professional, managerial, and white-collar workers who are a larger share of the urban workforce and less use among the self-employed and lower educated workers who are a larger share of the rural workforce.
• Communities May Lose Military Retirees Along With Their Bases. by Mark Fagan and Richard Reeder. Survey results from the Fort McClellan, AL, area suggest that military retirees contribute significantly to the economic, fiscal, and social fabric of the community, but many may leave when the military base closes. Communities facing base closures should consider their options for stemming the loss of military retirees and their options for minimizing problems caused by retiree outmigration.
• Minimum Wage Increase Could Raise Many Rural Workers' Wages. by Leslie A. Whitener and Timothy S. Parker. A larger share of rural than urban workers will benefit from this increase. The minimum wage will increase to $5.15 by 1997. In rural areas, White adults and single women comprise the largest segments of the beneficiaries, although Blacks, Hispanics, and teenagers are disproportionately represented in the group. The increase will affect rural retail trade and service industries more than other industries because of their greater dependence on low-wage workers.
• Census Tracts More Precisely Define Rural Populations and Areas. by John B. Cromartie and Linda L. Swanson. Accurate analysis of the economic and social problems currently facing urban and rural residents, as well as the implementation of programs to address them, largely depend on how settlement is measured. Counties are too big in many parts of the Nation to serve as building blocks for statistical areas used to analyze changing settlement patterns. Census tracts are used here to identify metro and nonmetro components of a five-level "rural-urban continuum." The census-tract continuum provides a more precise territorial delineation of areas and classification of population in different types of areas than does the county-level continuum.

• Book Reviews

• Book Announcements

Contents and Editor's Notebook, 18 kb

Lone Eagles and High Fliers in Rural Producer Services, 208 kb

Computer Use by Rural Workers is Rapidly Increasing, 35 kb

Communities May Lose Military Retirees Along With Their Bases, 37 kb

Minimum Wage Increase Could Raise Many Rural Workers' Wages, 45 kb

Census Tracts More Precisely Define Rural Populations and Areas, 2,104 kb

Book Reviews, 32 kb

Book Announcements, 17 kb

Index to Feature Articles and Indicators, Volumes 8-11, 15 kb

Archive of Past Issues

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Updated: February 10, 1997