Rural Development Perspectives

Volume 13, Number 2

Rural Development Perspectives is published three times per year by the Economic Research Service. To order Rural Development Perspectives or any other ERS publication, please visit the ERS-NASS Sales Desk.

Articles in this issue:

• Poverty of Older Women Across the Rural-Urban Continuum, by Carolyn C. Rogers. Poverty rates for persons 60 years and older are higher in the most rural counties than in more urban counties. Women age 75 and older account for about three-fourths of the older population in poverty. This article examines variation in poverty status (a critical indicator of well-being) among older women across the rural-urban continuum and by selected socioeconomic characteristics.

• Rural Communities and Military Base Closures, by Peter L. Stenberg. For the last decade, the Department of Defense has been undergoing a process of downsizing, including reducing the number of domestic bases. While most cuts in the number of military personnel have taken place in urban areas, rural areas have taken a proportionate share in the reductions. Although the negative economic impacts from base closures affect all areas, they often are much greater in rural communities than in urban communities.

• Rail Freight Consolidation and Rural America, by Dennis Brown. Although deregulation in the rail freight industry has brought cheaper, faster, safer, and more efficient rail service, the reduced competition in rail service and an increase in the number of abandoned routes have hurt some rural areas. Specific strategies to counter negative effects of rail consolidations are available, including the establishment of small railroads, greater Federal and State involvement, and the Rails-toTrails program. As the Nation's rail industry becomes more concentrated among fewer major carriers, these approaches likely will become more important.

• Rural Manufacturers in the Export Market, by H. Frederick Gale, Jr.. A new nationwide survey of manufacturing establishments provides information about patterns of exporting by rural and urban businesses. About half of nonmetro establishments reported exports in 1995 that amounted to 10 percent of nonmetro manufacturing shipments. Large plants accounted for most exports. Nonmetro exports of metal products, machinery, and electrical and transportation equipment are about equal to exports by natural resource-based industries. Nonmetro plants were slightly less likely to export than metroplants, but the difference disappeared when other characteristics were taken into account.

• Employment in Small Towns: Microbusinesses, Part-Time Work, and Lack of Benefits Characterize Iowa Firms, by Terry L. Besser, Iowa State University. As a whole, smalltown Iowa businesses employ more part-time than full-time employees and are less likely to provide benefits than are small businesses in general. Benefits are significantly lower for part-time employees. While the types and sizes of businesses vary, roughly half of the employment opportunities represented by smalltown Iowa businesses are in firms with fewer than 20 employees.

• Migration, Residential Mobility, and Poverty in Rural Pennsylvania, by Jason P. Schachter. Because of its profound implications for growth and decline in rural America, migration has long been a topic of interest. Migration is critical for explaining processes of urbanization, as workers venture into nonmetro counties to live while commuting to jobs in the central cities and expanding suburbs of metro America. Rural sociologists have recently found a pattern of urban-to-rural migration among the poor. The poor often are pushed by expensive and poor-quality housing in the city and attracted by ample and low-cost housing and a higher quality of life in the countryside. This article uses the 1990 Census and a special 1991 survey of low-income families living in nonmetro areas of Pennsylvania to explore the reasons the poor move.

Contents

Contents and Editor's Notebook, 19 kb

Poverty of Older Women Across the Rural-Urban Continuum, 1,054 kb

Rural Communities and Military Base Closures, 146 kb

Rail Freight Consolidation and Rural America, 277 kb

Rural Manufacturers in the Export Market, 305 kb

Employment in Small Towns: Microbusinesses, Part-Time Work, and Lack of Benefits Characterize Iowa Firms, 44 kb

Migration, Residential Mobility, and Poverty in Rural Pennsylvania, 24 kb

Book Reviews, 410 kb

Download entire issue, 2,257 kb.

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Updated: September 21, 1998