After a steep recession in the 1980s, many rural places are mounting a strong economic comeback in the 1990s. Reflecting the economic turnaround, more people are moving to rural areas. Notwithstanding the improved rural economic picture, rural leaders remain concerned about rural America's...

In this paper presented at this year's rural conference, Beyond Agriculture: New Policies for Rural America, Dr. Pezzini of the OECD explored how many of the challenges facing rural America are the same challenges found in rural areas throughout the world. Although agriculture and other natural...

More than 250 rural leaders from throughout the nation and beyond gathered at a special conference in Kansas City in April to discuss rural America's future, its challenges, and policies to meet those challenges. The conference was the first in a new series sponsored by the Center for the Study...

The United States needs a new rural policy. That was the conclusion of ten policy experts and 250 rural leaders from throughout the nation who met in Kansas City for the Center for the Study of Rural America’s second annual conference on rural policy matters, Exploring Policy Options for a New...

New approaches to rural policy are badly needed, as past reliance on subsidies and policies focused on a single sector are yielding diminishing results. Fortunately, a new frontier of policy experiments is emerging, and this frontier holds great promise in helping rural regions seize new...

Entrepreneurship is the new focal point for rural development. This was the consensus of 200 rural policy officials and experts who gathered in Kansas City on April 28-29 for the fourth annual rural policy conference hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Center for the Study of...

Equity markets play a crucial role as a lifeline of capital to entrepreneurs. U.S. equity markets are so large and so efficient that they have become an inexpensive way for many companies to raise capital through the issuance of stock. Indeed, many experts argue that the primary benefit of the...

The rural economy broke free from the reins of recession in 2004 with an especially strong performance in the farm sector. Net farm income easily surpassed the record high of 2003. And the weakness that plagued the nonfarm rural economy in recent years appears to have been replaced with stronger...