Rural America, Volume 15, Issue 2

Douglas Bowers, editor

No. (152) May 2000

About this magazine

Nontechnical articles on the results of new rural research and what those results mean. Shows the practical application of research in rural banking, aging, housing, the nonmetro labor force, poverty, and the effect of farm policies on rural areas.

In this report ...

Articles are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.

Contents

Foreword

Feature Articles

• Housing Poverty in Rural Areas Greater for Racial and Ethnic Minorities--Despite the higher prevalence of housing poverty in central cities, 4 million households in nonmetro areas were classified as housing poor based on a new multidimensional measure of housing disadvantage. Nonmetro Hispanic, Black, and other minority households were more likely than their White counterparts to be in housing poverty. But the dimensions of poverty operate differently for these groups. Housing quality was a more important factor in determining housing poverty for minority households, while economic need was the most important indicator for White households. Crowding was a particularly salient issue for nonmetro Hispanics. For more information, contact: Leslie Whitener.

• Direct Loans Open Doors to Rural Homeownership--USDA's Section 502 Single Family Direct Loan Program provides subsidized housing loans to very low- and low-income rural residents who are without adequate housing and cannot obtain credit from other sources. An ERS survey of recent Section 502 borrowers finds that they are typically under 40, in families with children, and first-time homebuyers. Most of them believed that their current home and neighborhood are better than their previous ones and that, without assistance from the program, they would not have been able to afford a comparable home for at least 2 years, if ever. For more information, contact: George Wallace.

• Local Housing Policy: The Small-Town Myth and Economic Development--Changes in the rural economy are challenging small-town identity. Local communities are encouraging economic development and population growth while struggling to maintain rural character. These efforts frequently foster policies—such as the banning of mobile homes, zoning requirements for large lots, enforcement of building codes, and barriers to the provision of multi-family rental housing—that result in higher consumer housing costs. Such policies reduce housing options for community newcomers and those with lower incomes, often with the unintended consequence of restricting economic development. This article examines ways in which economic restructuring has affected local housing conditions and policies in one Minnesota community. For more information, contact: Ann Ziebarth.

• Skilled Metro Workers Get Highest Payoffs for Using a Computer at Work--Workers who use computers on the job receive higher wages, reflecting computer-specific skills as well as broader skills. Even after taking into account differences in personal and job characteristics, industry, and occupational skill levels, there is still a 10-percent premium for use of a computer on the job. This accounts for a small portion of the metro-nonmetro wage gap, since computer use is more common in metro areas. The payoff to using a computer on the job is higher for college graduates and for workers with more experience, suggesting that computer skills may be of limited use to those who are otherwise disadvantaged in the labor market. Furthermore, this premium is only about 5 percent in nonmetro areas, while it is more than 12 percent in metro areas, suggesting that computer training will be of limited benefit to rural residents unless they are prepared to move to urban areas. For more information, contact: Lorin D. Kusmin.

• Less-Educated Workers Face Limited Opportunities To Move Up to Good Jobs--Only one-fifth of the jobs held by less-educated workers are in starter occupations associated with subsequent well-paying occupations. So while pathways to advancement exist, they may be inaccessible to many less-educated workers. Minorities and especially women make up a disproportionately large share of dead-end employment, but the shares of starter, goal, and dead-end jobs in rural and urban labor markets are similar. For more information, contact:Lorin D. Kusmin.

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Updated date: May 2000