TY - JOUR
T1 - The economic status of rural America in the president trump era and beyond
AU - Goetz, Stephan J.
AU - Partridge, Mark D.
AU - Stephens, Heather M.
N1 - Funding Information:
Rural development (RD) is funded by the federal government through USDA as well as through the Small Business Administration (SBA), Economic Development Agency (EDA), and Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), and, overall, it is a very small portion of federal spending. There is some evidence that the Trump Administration may not support current rural development (RD) programs, as indicated by initial proposals to strike key elements of the USDA RD infrastructure and USDA RD and SBA business financing activities, as well as to eliminate agencies such as the EDA and ARC (OPM 2017). On the one hand, it has long been recognized that consolidating federal economic development activities into one agency may be better than having them spread out over dozens of different departments and agencies that could lead to redundancies. Yet the early Trump Administration proposals suggest a relative neglect of rural areas in terms of producing sustainable economic development and aid for the most distressed communities. Hence, there is a role for researchers to provide sound evidence of rural policy effectiveness in order to inform the current administration as well as future policymakers.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. All rights reserved.
PY - 2018/3/1
Y1 - 2018/3/1
N2 - To set the stage for future research aimed at developing public policies that support economic prosperity in rural areas, we review the current economic conditions of rural America and the current literature. Rural America is often characterized as a uniform, distressed place where agriculture dominates. In fact, rural America is diverse, with many regions doing well economically. In some areas, labor-saving technologies have reduced the workforce in manufacturing and resource-dependent industries. However, integration with urban areas has weakened the economic divide between urban and some rural areas, while natural amenities have boosted the fortunes of others. There is also evidence that homegrown enterprises can support growth even in the most remote, distressed regions. To support economic growth, policies should recognize the unique features of each place or region and balance the farm sector with the larger nonfarm rural economy. Economists are well-positioned to provide research-based evidence of what works, as well as rigorous evaluation of new polices.
AB - To set the stage for future research aimed at developing public policies that support economic prosperity in rural areas, we review the current economic conditions of rural America and the current literature. Rural America is often characterized as a uniform, distressed place where agriculture dominates. In fact, rural America is diverse, with many regions doing well economically. In some areas, labor-saving technologies have reduced the workforce in manufacturing and resource-dependent industries. However, integration with urban areas has weakened the economic divide between urban and some rural areas, while natural amenities have boosted the fortunes of others. There is also evidence that homegrown enterprises can support growth even in the most remote, distressed regions. To support economic growth, policies should recognize the unique features of each place or region and balance the farm sector with the larger nonfarm rural economy. Economists are well-positioned to provide research-based evidence of what works, as well as rigorous evaluation of new polices.
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U2 - 10.1093/aepp/ppx061
DO - 10.1093/aepp/ppx061
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85043466368
SN - 2040-5790
VL - 40
SP - 97
EP - 118
JO - Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy
JF - Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy
IS - 1
ER -
