Measurement
Challenging Current Rural Funding Strategies
In an op-ed for Daily Yonder, Bonita Robertson-Hardy of the Community Strategies Group writes on how rural communities, funders, and other stakeholders’ approach to economic development can mean the difference between success and stagnation.
Measure Up: A Call to Action
Today, we have a generational opportunity to strengthen prosperity and equity in communities and Native nations across the rural United...
Annotated Resources for Measuring Rural Development Progress
This Annotated List of Resources for Measuring Rural Development Progress is part of Measure Up: A Call to Action. It was developed and...
Measure Up: Call to Action — Executive Summary
This is the Executive Summary for Measure Up: A Call to Action. It highlights six principles for measuring rural development progress to...
Defining Rural Development Success
There are no easy solutions for the many challenges that rural Americans face, but it’s clear that rural communities themselves...
The Transition to Empowered Problem-Solving Teams at Motorola
This document, “The Transition to Empowered Problem-solving Teams at Motorola” by James D. Burge, describes Motorola’s shift towards empowering its...
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.
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
Demographic Aspects of the Changing Rural Labor Force
This report, "Demographic Aspects of the Changing Rural Labor Force" by Daniel T. Lichter (1991), provides an overview of the challenges facing the rural labor force in America, particularly in the 1980s, and proposes a research agenda for the 1990s. The introduction highlights the shift from optimism in the 1970s to a "new economic reality" in the 1980s for rural America, marked by recession, the "farm crisis," increased global competition, and a return to rural outmigration and slow employment growth.
Perspectives on Recent Demographic Change in Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan America
This file, by William H. Frey, examines demographic changes in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan America, particularly focusing on the "nonmetropolitan turnaround" of the 1970s and its reversal in the 1980s.
The Impact of Deregulation on Rural Commercial Credit Availability in Four New England States: Empirical Evidence and Policy Implications
This report, "The Impact of Deregulation on Rural Commercial Credit Availability in Four New England States: Empirical Evidence and Policy Implications" by Deborah M. Markley, evaluates the effects of financial deregulation on the availability of commercial credit in rural areas, especially for small businesses. The study focuses on four New England states (Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont) which have a history of interstate banking and commercial lending by savings banks.
Measuring the Cost and Accomplishments of Capital Subsidies: The Case of Rural UDAG Grants
Marie Howland's paper, "Measuring the Cost and Accomplishments of Capital Subsidies: The Case of Rural UDAG Grants," examines the effectiveness and cost of low-interest loan programs for economic development, focusing on the rural component of the Urban Development Action Grant (UDAG) program.