This paper examines three alternative explanations for manufacturing specialization in rural areas: 1) the greater efficiency of very large plants; 2) the "localization" advantages identified with a number of firms in the same industry locating near each other; or 3) a strategy to gain...

Decomposing the occupational structure of rural and urban labor markets allows assessing whether these structures became more alike or more dissimilar between 1970 and 1990. A shift-share method is used to compute 'predicted' and 'specialized' shares for 9 inclusive occupations. A SUR model is...

This paper examines the validity of three alternative rationales for industrial specialization in rural areas. Manufacturing specialization can be explained by 1) the greater efficiency of very large plants; 2) the "localization" advantages identified with a number of firms in the same industry...

This article challenges the reliance on summary measures to inform trends in state level inequality. Since only a partial ordinal ranking of inequality is available to the researcher, one can never be certain if the results from a cardinal measure of inequality are unambiguous with respect to an...

A primary concern in rural development policy is the impact of government expenditures on economic growth, income and employment. The Socio-Economic Benefit Assessment System (SEBAS) model developed through academic/government collaboration in the United States is an example of a practical tool...

Farm operators are an integral part of some rural economies. The businesses they operate often hire seasonal and full-time employees and purchase goods and services from local farm implement dealers, input suppliers, and financial institutions. Farm household spending on food, furniture and...

Nearly all applied research on arts activity has examined phenomena in metropolitan areas. Findings from this past research confirm an arts specialization in a limited number of cities. This paper finds a similar pattern in nonmetropolitan areas, where a limited number of counties maintain or...