Rural America, Vol. 15, Issue 1

Douglas Bowers, editor

Rural America No. (151) February 2000

About this magazine

Rural America is published three itmes a year by the Economic Research Service and features articles covering a wide range of topics related to rural development as well as updates of rural social and economic trends.

In this report ...

Articles are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.

Contents and Foreward

Feature Articles

• Rural Consumer Markets--One out of every nine Americans lives in a rural consumer market. The average rural market has fewer retail businesses and provides more limited shopping opportunities than the average urban market. However, there is a wide range in the number of different businesses in rural markets, and a majority of rural consumers live in well-served markets with many kinds of stores and services. For more information, contact: Paul D. Frenzen or Timothy S. Parker.

• Thinking About Rural Manufacturing: A Brief History--Rural manufacturing received a big impetus during World War II and has since become an important part of the economy of rural America. Various concepts, such as agglomeration, product cycle, and the filtering-down process, have been used to explain rural manufacturing; the historical development of these concepts is discussed here. After declining in the 1980's, rural manufacturing has rebounded in the 1990's. The increasing use of technology by manufacturers in rural areas holds out hope that these areas will increase their share of skilled and high-paying manufacturing jobs. For more information, contact: Dennis Roth.

• Federal Funds in the Black Belt--The Black Belt region in the South is characterized by high poverty and related economic problems. The region receives above-average Federal funds per capita, mostly due to relatively high funding in metro areas. In nonmetro areas of the Black Belt, Federal funds vary significantly by type of county and program, with some significant mismatches between the level of program need and assistance actually received. Some Federal policies might be considered to address these mismatches and help develop this depressed region. For more information, contact: Samuel D. Calhoun, Richard J. Reeder, and Faqir S. Bagi.

• Child Poverty in Nonmetro Areas in the 1990's--Child poverty in the 1990's remains high, especially in nonmetro areas. In 1997, 14.1 million children under 18 were poor, representing 40 percent of the poverty population. Poor children are more likely to live in mother-only families, to be Black, and to have parents who have lower education and who are not employed. This article examines the poverty and welfare recipiency status of children to better inform policymakers about the potential effects of welfare reform efforts. For more information, contact: Carolyn C. Rogers and Elizabeth Dagata.

• Using Microenterprise Programs in the Rural United States--Microenterprise programs have received a great deal of attention in the United States in recent years as the number and scope of such programs have grown. Unlike most government programs aimed at existing businesses, these programs are frequently directed at the chronically unemployed, poor single parents, and welfare recipients. In many cases, they provide access to loans and technical training for the express purpose of creating a new class of small-scale, economically self-sufficient entrepreneurs no longer dependent upon public support. For more information, contact: George Wallace.

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Updated date: February 2000