IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/77830.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Economic Status of Rural America in the Trump Era

Author

Listed:
  • Goetz, Stephen
  • Partridge, Mark
  • Stephens, Heather

Abstract

To set the stage for future policies aimed at supporting economic prosperity in rural areas, we review the current economic conditions of rural America and the current literature. Rural America is often characterized as a uniform, distressed place where agriculture dominates. In fact, rural America is quite diverse with some regions doing well economically. In some areas, labor-saving technologies have reduced the workforce in many manufacturing and resource-dependent industries. However, integration with urban areas has weakened the economic divide between urban and some rural areas, while natural amenities have boosted the fortune of others. There is also evidence that homegrown enterprises can support growth even in the most remote, distressed regions. Policies to enhance growth should recognize the unique features of each place or region. Federal policies also need to strike a better balance between the farm sector and the much larger nonfarm rural economy that typically has been shortchanged; and such policies need to be rigorously evaluated.

Suggested Citation

  • Goetz, Stephen & Partridge, Mark & Stephens, Heather, 2017. "The Economic Status of Rural America in the Trump Era," MPRA Paper 77830, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:77830
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/77830/1/MPRA_paper_77830.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Enrico Moretti, 2010. "Local Multipliers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(2), pages 373-377, May.
    2. Johnston, Warren E. & Frengley, Gerald A.G., 1991. "The Deregulation Of New Zealand Agriculture: Market Intervention (1964-84) And Free Market Readjustment (1984-90)," Western Journal of Agricultural Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 16(01), pages 1-12, July.
    3. Qin Fan & Stephan J. Goetz & Jiaochen Liang, 2016. "The interactive effects of human capital and quality of life on economic growth," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(53), pages 5186-5200, November.
    4. O'Brien, Douglas J. & Ahearn, Mary Clare, 2016. "Rural Voice and Rural Investments: The 2016 Election and the Future of Rural Policy," Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resource Issues, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 31(4), pages 1-14, December.
    5. Fabrizio Barca & Philip McCann & Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose, 2012. "The Case For Regional Development Intervention: Place‐Based Versus Place‐Neutral Approaches," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(1), pages 134-152, February.
    6. Lewis Evans & Arthur Grimes & Bryce Wilkinson, 1996. "Economic Reform in New Zealand 1984-95: The Pursuit of Efficiency," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 34(4), pages 1856-1902, December.
    7. Partridge, Mark D. & Goetz, Stephan J. & Kilkenny, Maureen, 2013. "Why We Need Federal Statistical Data for States and Counties," Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resource Issues, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 28(3), pages 1-6.
    8. Yicheol Han & Stephan J. Goetz, 2015. "The Economic Resilience of U.S. Counties during the Great Recession," The Review of Regional Studies, Southern Regional Science Association, vol. 45(2), pages 131-149, Fall.
    9. Timothy J. Bartik, 1991. "Who Benefits from State and Local Economic Development Policies?," Books from Upjohn Press, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, number wbsle.
    10. Joshua D. Angrist & Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 2009. "Mostly Harmless Econometrics: An Empiricist's Companion," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 8769.
    11. Mark D. Partridge & Dan S. Rickman & Kamar Ali & M. Rose Olfert, 2008. "Lost in space: population growth in the American hinterlands and small cities," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 8(6), pages 727-757, November.
    12. Raj Chetty & Nathaniel Hendren & Patrick Kline & Emmanuel Saez, 2014. "Where is the land of Opportunity? The Geography of Intergenerational Mobility in the United States," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(4), pages 1553-1623.
    13. Aliye Ahu Akgün & Peter Nijkamp & Tüzin Baycan & Martijn Brons, 2010. "Embeddedness Of Entrepreneurs In Rural Areas: A Comparative Rough Set Data Analysis," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 101(5), pages 538-553, December.
    14. Minghao Li & Stephan J. Goetz & Mark Partridge & David A. Fleming, 2016. "Location determinants of high-growth firms," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1-2), pages 97-125, January.
    15. David H. Autor & David Dorn & Gordon H. Hanson, 2013. "The China Syndrome: Local Labor Market Effects of Import Competition in the United States," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(6), pages 2121-2168, October.
    16. JunJie Wu & Munisamy Gopinath, 2008. "What Causes Spatial Variations in Economic Development in the United States?," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 90(2), pages 392-408.
    17. Timothy W. Kelsey & Mark D. Partridge & Nancy E. White, 2016. "Unconventional Gas and Oil Development in the United States: Economic Experience and Policy Issues," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 38(2), pages 191-214.
    18. Zoltán J. Ács & Pontus Braunerhjelm & David B. Audretsch & Bo Carlsson, 2015. "The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship," Chapters, in: Global Entrepreneurship, Institutions and Incentives, chapter 7, pages 129-144, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    19. Mark D. Partridge, 2010. "The duelling models: NEG vs amenity migration in explaining US engines of growth," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 89(3), pages 513-536, August.
    20. Ziliak, James P., 2015. "Income, program participation, poverty, and financial vulnerability: Research and data needs," Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, IOS Press, issue 1-4, pages 27-68.
    21. Matias Busso & Jesse Gregory & Patrick Kline, 2013. "Assessing the Incidence and Efficiency of a Prominent Place Based Policy," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(2), pages 897-947, April.
    22. Hanson, Andrew, 2009. "Local employment, poverty, and property value effects of geographically-targeted tax incentives: An instrumental variables approach," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 721-731, November.
    23. Brian Whitacre & Roberto Gallardo & Sharon Strover, 2014. "Does rural broadband impact jobs and income? Evidence from spatial and first-differenced regressions," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 53(3), pages 649-670, November.
    24. Michael Fritsch & Michael Wyrwich, 2014. "The Long Persistence of Regional Levels of Entrepreneurship: Germany, 1925-2005," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(6), pages 955-973, June.
    25. Mark D. Partridge & Amanda L. Weinstein, 2013. "Rising Inequality in an Era of Austerity: The Case of the US," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(3), pages 388-410, March.
    26. Maureen Kilkenny & Mark D. Partridge, 2009. "Export Sectors and Rural Development," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 91(4), pages 910-929.
    27. Stephan J. Goetz & David L. Debertin, 2001. "Why Farmers Quit: A County-Level Analysis," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 83(4), pages 1010-1023.
    28. Heather M. Stephens & Mark D. Partridge, 2011. "Do Entrepreneurs Enhance Economic Growth in Lagging Regions?," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(4), pages 431-465, December.
    29. Andrew G. Berg & Jonathan D. Ostry, 2017. "Inequality and Unsustainable Growth: Two Sides of the Same Coin?," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 65(4), pages 792-815, November.
    30. Levernier, William & Partridge, Mark D. & Rickman, Dan S., 1998. "Differences in Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan U.S. Family Income Inequality: A Cross-County Comparison," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 272-290, September.
    31. David A. Fleming & Stephan J. Goetz, 2011. "Does Local Firm Ownership Matter?," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 25(3), pages 277-281, August.
    32. Jiaochen Liang & Stephan Goetz, 2016. "Self-employment and trade shock mitigation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 45-56, January.
    33. Rupasingha, Anil & Goetz, Stephan J., 2007. "Social and political forces as determinants of poverty: A spatial analysis," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 650-671, August.
    34. Stephan Weiler, 2001. "Unemployment in Regional Labor Markets: Using Structural Theories to Understand Local Jobless Rates in West Virginia," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 54(3), pages 573-592, April.
    35. Raj Chetty & Nathaniel Hendren & Lawrence F. Katz, 2016. "The Effects of Exposure to Better Neighborhoods on Children: New Evidence from the Moving to Opportunity Experiment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(4), pages 855-902, April.
    36. Andrew Hanson & Shawn Rohlin, 2011. "Do Location‐Based Tax Incentives Attract New Business Establishments?," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 427-449, August.
    37. Jiaochen Liang & Stephan J. Goetz, 2016. "Self-employment and trade shock mitigation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 45-56, January.
    38. Bebonchu Atems, 2013. "A Note On The Differential Regional Effects Of Income Inequality: Empirical Evidence Using U.S. County-Level Data," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(4), pages 656-671, October.
    39. John I. Carruthers & Alexander C. Vias, 2005. "Urban, Suburban, and Exurban Sprawl in the Rocky Mountain West: Evidence from Regional Adjustment Models," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(1), pages 21-48, February.
    40. Heather M. Stephens & Mark D. Partridge & Alessandra Faggian, 2013. "Innovation, Entrepreneurship And Economic Growth In Lagging Regions," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(5), pages 778-812, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Michael Storper, 2020. "Housing, urban growth and inequalities: The limits to deregulation and upzoning in reducing economic and spatial inequality," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(2), pages 223-248, February.
    2. Lael Brainard, 2017. "Why Opportunity and Inclusion Matter to America’s Economic Strength : a speech at the Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute Conference, sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, May 2," Speech 953, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    3. Prokopchuk, Oksana & Gorbachova, Iryna, 2018. "Система Інституційно-Інвестиційної Підтримки Розвитку Сільських Територій У Сша," Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, vol. 4(2), June.
    4. Lael Brainard, 2017. "Why Persistent Employment Disparities Matter for the Economy's Health : a speech at \"Disparities in the Labor Market: What Are We Missing?\" a research conference sponsored by the Board of ," Speech 970, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    5. Antonio Javier Prado-Domínguez & Fernando González-Laxe & Manuel Escourido-Calvo & Federico Martín-Bermúdez, 2021. "Initial Impact and Socioeconomic Compensation for the Closure of a Coal-Fired Power Plant in a Local Entity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-17, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alexandra Tsvetkova & Mark Partridge & Michael Betz, 2019. "Self-employment effects on regional growth: a bigger bang for a buck?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 27-45, January.
    2. Mark D. Partridge & Dan S. Rickman & M. Rose Olfert & Ying Tan, 2015. "When Spatial Equilibrium Fails: Is Place-Based Policy Second Best?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(8), pages 1303-1325, August.
    3. Partridge, Mark D. & Tsvetkova, Alexandra, 2018. "Local ability to "rewire" and socioeconomic performance: Evidence from US counties before and after the Great Recession," MPRA Paper 89313, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Minghao Li & Stephan J. Goetz & Bruce Weber, 2018. "Human Capital and Intergenerational Mobility in U.S. Counties," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 32(1), pages 18-28, February.
    5. Tsvetkova, Alexandra & Partridge, Mark & Betz, Micael, 2016. "Entrepreneurial and Wage and Salary Employment Response to Economic Conditions Across the Rural-Urban Continuum," MPRA Paper 75781, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Carlianne Patrick & Amanda Ross & Heather Stephens, 2016. "Designing Policies to Spur Economic Growth: How Regional Scientists Can Contribute to Future Policy Development and Evaluation," Working Papers 16-04, Department of Economics, West Virginia University.
    7. Mark Partridge & Shawn M. Rohlin & Amanda L. Weinstein, 0. "Firm formation and survival in the shale boom," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-22.
    8. Partridge, Mark D. & Rickman, Dan S., 2012. "Integrating regional economic development analysis and land use economics," MPRA Paper 38291, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Pender, John & Reeder, Richard, 2011. "Impacts of Regional Approaches to Rural Development: Initial Evidence on the Delta Regional Authority," Economic Research Report 262240, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    10. Alessandra Faggian & Mark Partridge & Edward J. Malecki, 2017. "Creating an Environment for Economic Growth: Creativity, Entrepreneurship or Human Capital?," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(6), pages 997-1009, November.
    11. Tyler Morin & Mark Partridge, 2021. "The Impact of Small Regional Economic Development Commissions: Is There Any Bang After Just a Few Bucks?," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 35(1), pages 22-39, February.
    12. Alexandra Tsvetkova & Mark Partridge & Michael Betz, 2017. "Entrepreneurial and Employment Responses to Economic Conditions across the Rural-Urban Continuum," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 672(1), pages 83-102, July.
    13. Mark Partridge & Shawn M. Rohlin & Amanda L. Weinstein, 2020. "Firm formation and survival in the shale boom," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(4), pages 975-996, December.
    14. Morin, Tyler & Partridge, Mark, 2019. "The Economic Impact of Small Regional Commissions: Evidence from the Delta Regional Authority," MPRA Paper 95200, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Shiqin Liu & Haifeng Qian & Kingsley E. Haynes, 2021. "Entrepreneurship in Small Cities: Evidence From U.S. Micropolitan Areas," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 35(1), pages 3-21, February.
    16. Silveli Cristo-Andrade & João J. Ferreira, 2020. "Knowledge spillovers and strategic entrepreneurship: what researches and approaches?," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 263-286, March.
    17. Lee, Jongkwan & Peri, Giovanni & Yasenov, Vasil, 2022. "The labor market effects of Mexican repatriations: Longitudinal evidence from the 1930s," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    18. Zachary T. Keeler & Heather M. Stephens, 2023. "What matters for lagging regions? The role of self‐employment and industrial diversity in distressed areas," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(4), pages 962-1001, December.
    19. Minghao Li & Stephan J. Goetz & Mark Partridge & David A. Fleming, 2016. "Location determinants of high-growth firms," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1-2), pages 97-125, January.
    20. Betz, Michael R. & Partridge, Mark D. & Farren, Michael & Lobao, Linda, 2015. "Coal mining, economic development, and the natural resources curse," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 105-116.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Rural america; Trump; rural policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • P48 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Legal Institutions; Property Rights; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Regional Studies
    • R1 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:77830. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.