Report
Exploding Myths about Rural Entrepeneurship
This file is a research paper titled "Exploding Myths About Rural Entrepreneurship" by Terry F. Buss and Mark Popovich. It challenges common misconceptions about rural entrepreneurship using survey data from 1,428 start-up entrepreneurs and employment tax files from five states: Iowa, North Dakota, Michigan, Maine, and Arkansas.
Unprecedented Disparities, Unparalleled Adjustment Needs: Winners and Losers on the NAFTA ‘Fast Track’
This paper, "Unprecedented Disparities, Unparalleled Adjustment Needs: Winners and Losers on the NAFTA 'Fast Track'," by Michael E. Conroy and Amy K. Glasmeier (August 15, 1992), raises concerns about the distribution of benefits and the magnitude of adjustment costs associated with the proposed North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Leadership Through Partnerships: The National Trust’s Main Street Program as a Community Economic Development Tool
This article, "Leadership Through Partnerships: The National Trust's Main Street Program as a Community Economic Development Tool" by John C. Shepard (1992), examines the Main Street Program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The program uses a "grassroots and bootstraps" approach, combining historic preservation with economic development to revitalize historic commercial districts.
The Economic Development Strategies of the Great Plains Studies
This report, titled "The Economic Development Strategies of the Great Plains States," was prepared by the Center for the New West in June 1992. The principal author is Louis D. Higgs, with Claudia Giannetti as contributing author. Funding for the report was provided in part by the State Rural Policy Program of the Aspen Institute and The Ford Foundation, the Denver Regional office of the US Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration, and the Center for the New West.
Overview of Change in America’s New Economy
This report, "A New Vision of the Heartland: The Great Plains in Transition," prepared by the Center for the New West in March 1992, examines the economic, social, political, and cultural dynamics of the Great Plains region. Funded by The Ford Foundation and the Aspen Institute, it challenges traditional views of decline in the Great Plains, arguing that perceived decline is often a misinterpretation of turbulent change.
State Economic Development Programs and Local Needs: Where Is The Common Ground?
This report, titled "State Economic Development Programs and Local Needs: Where Is The Common Ground?", explores the disconnect between the economic development needs perceived by local policymakers in rural Mississippi and the state-level policies designed to address them. The research, funded by the Aspen Institute and the Ford Foundation, was conducted by the John C. Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University in 1992.
State-Federal Collaboration on Rural Development
This report, "State-Federal Collaboration on Rural Development," by Thomas Unruh and Jay Kayne, published in 1992 by the National Governors' Association (NGA), examines intergovernmental and public-private collaboration in rural development. The NGA, a bipartisan forum for governors, conducts research through its Center for Policy Research, which supported the creation of this report with a grant from the Ford Foundation through The Aspen Institute.
Who Represents Rural America? An Analysis of Rural Development Needs, Policy, and Institutions
This report, "WHO REPRESENTS RURAL AMERICA? An Analysis of Rural Development Needs, Policy, and Institutions," by Joshua Stein (November 1, 1992), evaluates the effectiveness of the Rural Economic Policy Program (REPP) of the Aspen Institute and explores the need for a new rural development organization
NEW FACTORY WORKERS IN OLD FARMING COMMUNITIES: Costs and Consequences of Relocating Meat Industries
This document is a collection of papers from an April 1992 conference on "New Factory Workers in Old Farming Communities: Costs and Consequences of Relocating Meat Industries." The conference was sponsored by the University of Kansas and co-sponsored by other universities, with funding from The Ford Foundation in cooperation with The Aspen Institute's Rural Economic Policy Program.
The Strategic Development Organization: Visionary Leadership For State Economic Development
This report from Jobs for the Future, published in August 1992, examines Strategic Development Organizations (SDOs) and their role in state economic development.
Poverty and Work: Utilization of Labor Resources Among the Rural Poor
This report, "Poverty and Work: Utilization of Labor Resources Among the Rural Poor," by Jill L. Findeis and Stephen M. Smith, was prepared for the Ford Foundation's Rural Poverty Program and the Rural Economic Policy Program of the Aspen Institute in November 1992.
Form Without Substance, Past Over Present: The Institutional Failure Of National U.S. Rural Policy
This document, titled "FORM WITHOUT SUBSTANCE, PAST OVER PRESENT: THE INSTITUTIONAL FAILURE OF NATIONAL U.S. RURAL POLICY" by William P. Browne, examines how Congress makes policy, particularly focusing on the use of information and sources of information. The central theme is that Congress is a reactive institution whose choices are limited by its rules.