The Creative Class and Economic Development as Practiced in the Rural U.S. South: An Exploratory Survey of Economic Development Professionals

The research administers an exploratory survey to local economic developers in the state of Kentucky to examine opinion regarding the creative class. We hypothesize that Kentucky officials, especially the ones from the rural areas of the state, will be skeptical of the creative class theory of economic development. However, analysis shows half of the sampled economic developers to be supportive of the creative class, and rural developers are just as likely as urban ones to support the theory.