@article{334e0fe0ac2b4be8b21d50454d945eb2,
title = "Rural population decline in the 1980s: Impacts of farm structure and federal farm programs",
abstract = "Federal farm program benefits accrue disproportionately to large-scale farm operators, and continue largely because of the political influence of their beneficiaries. Some writers argue that these payments stem the movement of labor out of agriculture, ultimately reducing the pace of rural depopulation. Here, a theoretical model linking farm program payments to population loss is presented and empirically estimated for the years 1980-90. Larger farm program payments as a share of total cash marketing receipts were associated with greater population losses from rural counties. This result holds after controlling for other economic variables affecting population migration from rural areas.",
author = "Goetz, {Stephan J.} and Debertin, {David L.}",
note = "Funding Information: The authors are associate professor and professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics al the University of Kentucky. The authors thank David Freshwater, Angelos Pagoulatos, Richard Ready, Jerry Skees, and Louis Swanson, in addition to two AJAE reviewers, for valuable comments and discussion. This research was supported in part under the NR1 Competitive Grants Program/USDA (No. 93-37401-9376). Opinions expressed are the authors' and not necessarily those of the University of Kentucky, the Agricultural Experiment Station or the College of Agriculture, of the USDA/CSRS. Based on authors{"} calculations using Census of Population data (U.S. Department of Commerce). The ERS/USDA defines farming-dependent counties as {"}'non-metro counties in which farming contributed a weighted annual average of 20% or more to total labor and proprietor income'{"} (see Hady and Ross). Twenty farming-dependent counties (in Tex., Mont., Miss., N.Dak., S.Dak., Nebr., and Mo.) lost 20% of more of their population, while two counties (in Tex. and Mont.) lost more than 25%.",
year = "1996",
month = aug,
doi = "10.2307/1243270",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "78",
pages = "517--529",
journal = "American Journal of Agricultural Economics",
issn = "0002-9092",
publisher = "Oxford University Press",
number = "3",
}