Patterns of economic growth in rural Appalachia are examined with a focus on natural and built amenities. While the literature is clear that rural areas endowed with scenic beauty, lakes, forests, and wildlife, among other natural amenities, and coupled with built amenities such as golf courses,...

The effects of structural shifts in the treatment of intergovernmental aid during the 1980s are tested using a sample of 1,929 rural counties with local road responsibilities. A dynamic model is used to test the hypothesis that local public officials treated intergovernmental aid differently...

The role of farm dependence and size on rural economic growth is examined with data from 2,240 nonmetropolitan U.S. counties for the period 1990-1995. A simple neoclassical model of regional economic growth is set forth with a central question relating to the role of agriculture on rural...

An analysis of size and managerial efficiency of northern New England towns in the production of rural road services is reported. A stochastic cost frontier was used as the normative efficiency reference set. Empirical results provide evidence of economies of size in the production of road...

The role of economic diversity in regional stability and growth is examined. Contrary to "conventional wisdom" the empirical literature has been unable to confirm the link between diversity and economic performance. Traditional notions of diversity tend to be defined narrowly, usually...

The impact of crime on the local quality of life of a region is examined. Using the methods suggested by Roback (1982) hedonic pricing analysis is used to examine the effects of eight categories of crime on property values and wages. The hedonic results are then used to calculate the implicit...

The development of a community's retail market should be an integral part of the community development process. Some, however, might argue that the retail sector develops naturally following other types of economic development such as growth in the manufacturing sector or an influx of tourists....

The intent of this study is to introduce and report a new method for assessing the economic impact of milk production on the Wisconsin economy. Previous agricultural impact studies have used methods with inherent lags in the timing of the relevant data. In addition, previous studies treated...

The intent of the applied research reported in this paper is to examine the relationship between growth and the fiscal health of a subset of local governments (incorporated cities) over the last decade. While any number of researchers has raised this question, the literature has tended to focus...