State and local governments increasingly look to entrepreneurship as a means of stimulating economic growth. However, can the public sector play a role in promoting entrepreneurial activity—and if so, what should that role be? The authors investigate independent effects of financial and...

In the EU, building social capital and developing human capital are increasingly seen as key to development in rural areas. Social capital is fundamentally about human interrelationships and networks. Evaluation of policy initiatives to promote social capital needs to go beyond indicators of...

Labor market areas (LMAs) have long been a staple of regional and urban analysis. As commuting patterns have expanded over time, these areas have become larger and more complex, and the dichotomous designation of a county either belonging to an LMA or not may no longer be adequate. We apply...

The association between types of food access and rising adult obesity rates is increasingly recognized, as a complement to the effects of declining physical activity. Previous studies have examined the effects on obesity of only a limited set of store types, such as grocery stores, fast food...

Although most countries in the world are rapidly urbanizing, the majority of the global population – particularly the poor – continue to live in rural areas. This Handbook rejects the popular notion that urbanization should be universally encouraged and presents clear evidence of...

Lack of access to nutritious and affordable food has become an important public policy issue in the U.S.: various interest groups are seeking to reverse a trend whereby certain areas lack larger, full-service grocery stores that provide “higher” quality foods. Based on game-theoretic...

This study seeks to identify the independent effect of Wal-Mart stores on changes in U.S. family-poverty rates at the county level. We draw on the contributions of a number of disciplines to enhance our understanding of the broader forces that influence poverty. Copyright (c) 2006 by the...