This paper analyzes individuals' religious behavior from an economic perspective to explain religious behavior among residents of the rural South of the United States. Religious participation decisions of individuals in the rural South are analyzed within an allocation of time framework....

We compare the returns to human capital in rural areas with those in urban areas, and across the different regions of the US. A key finding is that these returns are considerably lower in rural than in urban areas. Furthermore, failure to correct for spatial dependence bias produces an...

Despite the surging interest in entrepreneurship as an economic development strategy, studies of the independent relationship between proprietorship formations and job growth are virtually non-existent. We find that self-employment or proprietorship rates are associated with faster job growth in...

Understanding the factors that account for differences in food stamp expenditure dynamics over space is important not only for potentially improving public policy but also for clarifying the relative roles of factors that are and are not under the control of welfare recipients in determining...