Policy & Data
Winners and Losers on the NAFTA “Fast Track”
Paper asserts that the most negatively affected economic sector that would be affected by the North American Free Trade Agreement will be rural, in both the United States and Mexico.
Prospects for Remote Branch Plant Regions in the International Economy
Paper highlights lack of competition that rural communities provide given out-sourcing and low-wage production sites in developing nations.
Regional Impacts and Responses to Globalization
This case study describes the relationship between the globalization of capital and the general decline of a deindustrializing region (Western New York), and relates this dynamic to the particular conditions of the region's rural communities.
Declining Middle: The Polarization of Job Quality
Paper examines impacts of the changes on the 1980s on the prospects of various ethnic/gender demographic groups, then discusses implications of these developments for families and public policy.
Rural Economic Disadvantage Webinar
USDA Bulletin/Fact Sheet provides on evidence of economic decline in rural communities based on federal data from 1979-1992.
Income & Employment Generation Among the Disadvantaged
Report seeks to author a variety of program and sustainability strategies to foster poverty alleviation.
Minimum Wage Effects on Rural Labor Markets
Paper looks at the response of firms to changes in the minimum wage.
NAFTA: An Assesment
Document summarizes the central provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and evaluates the economic impact of the agreement.
Representing Rural America: Development Needs and Policy
This report summarizes the survey over thirty experts in the rural economic development sphere (directors of grassroots rural organizations, policy institutes, rural advocates, state and federal government officials, congressional aides, academics, and general policy experts.)
Small Stakes Gambling in Rural Communities: Policy Implications for State Government
Report seeks to examine experiences of Deadwood, SD and Central City, Black Hawk, and Cripple Creek, CO communities in regards to gambling presences in order to foster and promote thoughtful state government policy on small stakes gambling.
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).
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.