Policy & Data
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 and Employment for Disadvantaged Populations
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.
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.
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.