Factors Associated with Rural Economic Growth: Lessons from the 1980's

摘要

The report identifies characteristics of rural areas conducive to economicgrowth. Its analysis explains growth in total real earnings in nonmetro U.S. counties from 1979 to 1989 using multiple regression analysis. Factors associated with improved county earnings were attractiveness to retirees, right-to-work laws, high levels of high school completion rates, public education expenditures, and access to transportation networks. Factors associated with poor earnings growth include higher wage levels and concentrations of transfer-payment recipiency. Counties with higher concentrations of African-Americans also experienced slowed earnings growth, although the reasons for that association cannot be identified from this analysis. The mix of industries active in a county and the rate of earnings growth in nearby counties were also strongly associated with county earnings.