This report identifies factors that influence a rural area's economic success or failure, and evaluates whether federal programs efficiently address rural economic problems. Data collection included a review of federal programs that provide funding to rural areas, and interviews with federal and state agency officials involved with rural…

This volume, fourth in a series, is devoted to a study of the depression years of the 1930s, a crucial period in the history of the Hispanic land-grant-villages. It places northern New Mexico in a broad regional and national context, examining the major currents of social and political thought in American society that influenced Hispanic New Deal…

This study describes the political environment that confronts rural advocates, and identifies the boundaries within which rural policy can be developed, promoted, and adopted with some degree of success. Congress designs and implements national policy; therefore, its composition affects advancements in rural policy. Rural residents comprise 24% of…

Problems in federal rural policy arise in a number of areas: the extreme economic adversity of rural America, failure to acknowledge the higher cost of providing rural services, failure to distinguish between rural programs and agriculture programs, and failure to address specific rural needs. Papers in this collection examine rural development…

Examines current social policies and the extent to which they address rural needs. Focuses on primary issues raised by programs of social insurance, public assistance, and economic development. Notes differences between pre- and post-transfer income and their impact on self-sufficiency for rural populations. (JHZ)

This issue paper, meant to stimulate discussion within the employment and training community, offers three different perspectives on improving conditions in rural areas. However, all of these perspectives share common themes: a belief in the ability of rural areas to recover economically, a commitment to ensuring that this occurs, and the use of…

As rural communities strive to meet the demands of both their citizens and of higher levels of government for increased local services, they must rely more and more on outside assistance. The maze and complexity of federal and state mandates forces officials to seek technical assistance from a network of public and private agencies. The dynamics…

This report contains five papers with discussions identifying policy and research issues in rural labor markets, assessing the adequacy of existing data and theories for researching these issues, and assigning priorities to research questions. The papers focus on rural economic goals, market linkages with metropolitan, national, and international…

The executive summary of the first meeting of the National Advisory Council on Rural Development gives highlights of remarks and presentations by 16 speakers and discussions by subgroups on supporting state and local government (management and rural development roles), on new ways for rural development, and on financing rural development. Purposes…

The major participants in the formation of policy and programs for rural areas include agricultural interest groups, nonfarm groups, certain legislators, and--less directly--the media. Policy is developed in many institutional arenas: the local community and state governments, the Department of Agriculture, the White House, and the Congress and…