This paper examines the roles of specialized versus general skills in explaining variation in the returns to an agriculture degree across majors inside and outside the agricultural industry. The focus on returns by sector of employment is motivated by the finding that most agricultural majors...

For the first 13 years after entry, the hazard rate for firm exits is persistently higher for urban than rural firms. While differences in observed industry market, local market and firm attributes explain some of the rural-urban gap in firm survival, rural firms retain a survival advantage 25%...

 Over the past 45 years, meatpacking has shifted from a predominantly urban to a predominantly rural industry. Meatpacking plants can represent a significant share of a rural community’s employment. As a traditional employer of immigrants, these plants can also alter significantly the...

Using data on licensing of registered nurses (RNs) in Iowa and results of a labor-market survey sent to a subsample of the database, we investigate the factors influencing the decision to renew a nursing license or not. A disproportionate share of those who donï¾’t renew do so due to...

The availability of broadband Internet service should have increased firm productivity and lowered firm entry costs.  However, validating the broadband effect is complicated by the rapid deployment of broadband Internet service across metropolitan areas, removing meaningful variation in...

We investigate the role of broadband access on the probability of telecommuting and whether individuals who work from home receive greater compensation. We also assess whether telecommuting differs between more- and less-densely populated areas. Telecommuting responds positively to local average...

Using U.S. Census data from 1950 to 2000, this paper provides a framework to compare the responses of immigrant and native population growth to the economic incentives offered by rural counties in the Midwest and the South. We find that in marked contrast to traditional destinations for new...