Retail Business Adjustment in Rural Hierarchies

Many rural hierarchies are becoming increasingly dominated by a few regional growth centers while the retail sector in adjacent smaller communities either stagnates or declines. This study tests the hypothesis that the rate of adjustment of the retail sector to changing consumer spending patterns is uniform across different ordered communities in a rural hierarchy. Neoclassical investment theory is combined with central place theory to develop a conceptual model of the relationship between the retail sector and investment in a community. A three tiered 49 community hierarchy is constructed using data from the Minnesota Department of Revenue and the Report of Condition and Income of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. A crosssectional time series ordinary least squares regression model is employed to estimate retail coefficients of adjustment for the hypothesis testing. Regional estimates indicate only partial adjustment in the retail sector across the whole hierarchy to shifts in consumer spending patterns. Community estimates, which decompose the regional estimate, indicate retail businesses in the largest and mid-sized communities adjust totally in one period, but that retail businesses in the smallest communities do not. The faster rates of adjustment by retail businesses in the larger communities to changing consumer spending patterns may augment the development of regional growth centers in rural areas.     

Extending Carlino-Mills Models to Examine Urban Size and Growth Impacts on Proximate Rural Areas

ABSTRACT A modification of the Boamet model of local economic change is developed that links the growth of urban nodes in functional economic regions to employment and population change in the rural hinterlands of these regions. The two-equation model uses labor market and residential zone observations that are consistent with commuter fields around each rural community in the regions studied. The model parameters are estimated for 204 Danish rural municipalities, for 3515 rural communes in six regions of Eastern France, and for 268 rural census tracts in South Carolina. Results indicate that urban nodal spread effects are often significant and tend to dominate urban backwash impacts on rural communities. Accordingly, rural communities need to be concerned with the economic fortunes of their urban nodes and with policies that affect the pattern of urban growth between urban center and the urban fringe.     

Working overseas: Seafarers’ remittances and their distribution in Kiribati

Abstract: Remittances sent home by seafarers employed on international merchant and fishing ships are a significant income component for the Kiribati economy, with immediate benefits for families and communities. This paper explores the strategies used and the amounts sent by seafarers to their family members by drawing on different data sets, such as remittances data kept in the form of allotment lists by employment agencies, and comparing these with interview responses from seafarers and their families. Remittances are spread throughout extended families and communities firstly via direct allotments sent to individual bank accounts, and secondly through channels of family and community obligations. This paper shows that the general flow of seafarers’ remittances into Kiribati is continuous and has increased over the years with more people engaged in seafaring employment. Families, however, were found to be dependent on individual decisions made by seafarers of how to share their remittances. Kiribati has no institutionalised social welfare system, and as a consequence remittances function as a private safety net for seafarer families.     

An Application of the Stock Adjustment Model in Estimating Employment Multipliers for the South Central Louisiana Petroleum Economy 1964–84

The South Central Louisiana Petroleum Economy received an economic rent from its petroleum resources during the energy crisis of the 1970s and early 80s. A differential export-base model incorporating a geometric lag was developed for estimating dynamic employment multipliers. This technique is especially applicable to regional economies in which exports are a major economic factor. Employment multipliers were estimated using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. Results from the analysis indicate that agriculture, oil and gas mining, and manufacturing are highly significant employment generators. Both long-run and short-run employment multipliers were derived from the model. It is estimated that a five-dollar change in the real price of crude oil will result in a long-run employment change of 8,027 for the oil and gas mining industry. Based on estimates of the long-run multiplier, this will result in a total employment change of 28,014 for this economy.     

Analysis of Local Sales Taxation in Rural Areas: An Oklahoma Case Study

This study examines the impact of tax rates and tax rate differentials in a trade area on local sales tax revenues. Sales data for FY 1986 were analyzed for the 75 nonmetropolitan communities in Oklahoma with populations between 2,500 and 50,000. Multiple regression techniques were used to estimate local tax revenues as a function of tax rates, tax rate differential and local community economic and locational attributes. The results indicate that the tax rate differential was not significantly related to local revenue collection in the overall sample, but that the differential was significant for rural communities with relatively higher tax rates. Tax rate, income, service sector employment and a gravity factor were also significant influences on local sales tax revenues. These results imply that, because of the unique characteristics of rural retail markets and the dominance of rural trade centers, these rural trade center cities are able to raise local tax rates and effectively export tax burden to nonresidents without significantly affecting their retail sales when the tax differential is not a large one.     

Nonemployment Income and the Economic Base of Michigan Counties: 1959–1986

ABSTRACT Despite the fact that nonemployment income makes up approximately one-third of all personal income, its impact on local area economies has not been closely examined. This study uses Michigan county data to examine the impact of nonemployment income on nonbasic income over a twenty-seven-year period. This impact is compared to the impact of basic income by employing regression analysis to estimate comparative multiplier effects for both types of income. Nonemployment income is found to have a significant impact on nonbasic income, particularly in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan urban counties, where its impact appears to be stronger than that of basic income.     

Community Level Multipliers for Rural Development Initiatives

ABSTRACT The success of economic development initiatives in achieving a significant and sustained improvement for a target area is strongly influenced by the size of the local multiplier. New economic activity is generally site specific and the proportion of spending and re-spending that generates local multiplier effect will vary with the hierarchical level of community in which the activity is located. Leakages in the form of outshopping by community residents and expenditures in the community that constitute payments to agents outside the home community are estimated for communities in six functional levels that, combined, represent the complete trade center hierarchy in Saskatchewan. The resulting multipliers are found to vary with functional level, with the smallest communities having the smallest multipliers. When rural areas are being targeted for economic development, more rural economic activity can be generated by focusing on relatively large rural communities.     

Rural‐to‐Urban Commuting: Three Degrees of Integration

Commuting ties between rural places of residence and urban places of employment are among the most visible forms of rural–urban integration. For some rural areas, access to urban employment is a key source of population retention and growth. However, this access varies considerably across rural areas, with distance representing a primary deterrent. In addition to distance, the size of the urban community will also influence rural‐to‐urban commuting opportunities. In this paper, using Canadian data, we empirically estimated the influence of local rural population and job growth on rural out‐commuting within the urban hierarchy. We find consistent support for the deconcentration hypothesis where population moves to rural areas for lifestyle and quality of life reasons, while retaining urban employment. Further, we find some evidence that in addition to distance from the nearest urban center being a deterrent, increased remoteness from the top of the urban hierarchy exerts a positive influence on out‐commuting. Recognition of these types of rural–urban linkages through commuting is essential in designing Canadian rural policy and targeted programs that may effectively support local rural populations. In particular, they point to the need to have reasonable transportation infrastructure for urban accessibility, which should be complemented by other “built” infrastructure to improve the livability of rural communities.     

Employment Multipliers and Functional Types of Communities: Effects of Public Transfer Payments

ABSTRACT The Arizona Community Data Set (ACDS) now contains the results of 40 separate establishment-level, community-wide surveys. These communities can be classified into different functional types, and OLS regression models can be used to explore the relationships among community functions, levels of public transfer payments, and magnitudes of economic base multipliers. The statistical analysis suggests that employment-derived estimates of the base multiplier tend to be biased upward unless transfer payments are specified in the model.     

Transitions of Poverty Amidst Employment Growth: Two Nonmetro case studies

ABSTRACT The theory behind employment growth as a strategy for lessening the poverty problem is based on a premise that job opportunities are inadequate. But during rapid employment growth in some nonmetropolitan areas of Kentucky and Georgia the effect on poverty has been limited. A large majority of poor households have no potential to leave poverty via employment since age, health, and other limiting factors among household members restrict entry into the work force. Also, for some the condition of being poor resulted not because they had never worked, but because they tended to have worked at marginal, low-wage jobs. Meanwhile, some jobs went unfilled because employers could not find persons who could meet the right requirements. This study shows that in these two areas, expanding employment opportunities did not significantly reduce the poverty problem. As the literature addressing the issue of the effects of employment growth on poverty is inconclusive and sometimes contradictory, clarification of how employment gains are distributed among local residents is essential.     

Economic Stability and Economic Growth in Rural Communities: Dimensions Relevant to Local Employment Creation Strategy

Approaches for analyzing employment stability with aggregated data for SICs in large regions or major metropolitan areas are misleading indicators of the impact of manufacturing growth in rural areas. Performance of moderate-sized individual establishments seriously impact total employment variation in small-employment-sized rural communities, requiring analysis of the determinants of employment stability of these establishments. Aggregate SIC performance and most conventional criteria for judging probable stability appear to provide very limited predictability for individual firm performance. However, manufacturing development appears generally to have desirable effects on community-wide employment stability.     

Rapid estimation of broad sense heritability of farmer-managed maize populations in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, Mexico, and implications for improvement

A method for rapid estimation of broad senseheritability (H) was applied in farmers' maize fields in two communities inOaxaca, Mexico. Plant and ear traits were documented and H estimatescompared with narrow sense heritability (h²) from family analysis andpublished estimates. Absolute values of H estimates were larger thanh² estimates from this study and the literature. Relative ranking bytrait was the same as in the literature, though not the same as rankings ofh² estimates generated in this study. With an understanding of itslimitations, this rapid, economical estimation procedure could provideuseful initial information especially for collaborative crop improvement workbetween researchers and farmers or farming communities on-farm, a plantbreeding context for which little empirical information is available.     

The End of the Nuclear Era: Nuclear Decommissioning and Its Economic Impacts on U.S. Counties

Between 1957 and 1990, nearly 100 nuclear reactors were constructed throughout the U.S., and nuclear power currently accounts for 20 percent of electricity production nationwide. Nuclear plants are often constructed in small communities for which they constitute a large source of employment and income. To date, 24 nuclear reactors have undergone decommissioning, and more are expected in the future, particularly as nuclear reactors age and face increasingly strict regulations. This paper examines the effects of nuclear decommissioning over time at the county‐level on measures of employment, income, and population using difference‐in‐differences regression and propensity score matching. Panel data are obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau, and cover the years 1975–2014. The analysis finds that nuclear decommissioning is associated with positive and statistically significant increases in employment and per capita income over time. Results suggest that nuclear decommissioning may actually be a positive force in regional economic development, and concludes with limitations of the approach and implications for future research. As an emerging area of research, this paper is meant to build on previous work, as well as to provide a basis for further discussion and debate on the economic future of nuclear host communities and regional economies.     

Participatory natural resource management in rural China: Making and unmaking environmental narratives

Environmental and development discourses in China can be categorised into three narrative motifs framing human–nature relationships: peasant, indigenous, and community. Indigenous and community narratives have been widely adopted by environmental NGOs (eNGOs) in China in promoting community‐based natural resource management projects, but there has been very limited critical research on such phenomena. Analysis of socio‐economic change in two ethnic minority communities in Yunnan shows that neither narrative theme is fully internalised by the relevant communities. Instead narratives may be strategically modified or even rejected by local communities. This is due to different agendas being held by local communities and eNGOs, and two factors pertinent to rural China: the incompatibility of concepts of ‘community’ in Chinese and international contexts results in confusion, and a lack of recent territorial and cultural claims by rural communities since the collectivist era makes it difficult to construct the identity of a community. It remains challenging for eNGOs in China to advocate either community or indigenous narratives in contexts of rapid socio‐economic change.     

Quality of Life & Modern Living

The pre-engineered town house system incorporates advanced technology, features and standards. The town house system is based upon proven building components, which are proven for on-site construction and which maybe pre-engineered in a controlled environment and delivered to site pre-commissioned. The pre-engineered town house also has the following qualities: short building time,superior quality, low weight, economy of scale, less disruptive on site therefore more sensitive to the environment, safer construction and reduced labour/requirements. The town house is adaptable to a range of possible configurations for construction and considers simple and modular design to cope with incremental expansion. Whilst maintaining the highest international standards, it will also provide the potential of training for quality employment for local communities. The town house is an Intelligent/Smart Home that will possess a computerised building control/management system and it will partner with steel and the telecommunications industries and be up to date with the latest advancements. The town house will be of zero defect quality and therefore be ecologically and environmentally advanced.     

The Arts and Employment: A Case Study of the Stratford Festival

This paper examines the impact of the Stratford Festival on employment within the community of Stratford, Ontario. The specific objective is to calculate the number of “secondary” jobs created in Stratford per “primary” job generated at the festival. This is achieved in three stages. First, primary employment is calculated from information provided by theatre personnel. Second, secondary employment is assessed from information collected in a survey of local business proprietors. Third, a festival-employment multiplier is derived. This reveals the number of secondary jobs created in the community per job at the festival. Results indicate that 1.6 jobs result in Stratford for every job generated at the theatre. This finding provides evidence that cultural organizations contribute positively to the economic climate of a community. The economic consequences of cultural events constitute an important argument for their continued support.     

The relationship between population growth and real assessed market values: note

Various indices are commonly used to measure growth or decline in communities and regions, but this article suggests another measure which is fairly easy to obtain--the change over time in real assessed market values. Computer storage and analysis of real estate assessment and sales data make it possible to determine accurate true assessment ratios which can be used to calculate reasonable estimates of market values. This article shows the relationship between population growth from 1970 to 1980 and the changes in real assessed market values of various property classes for over 400 Pennsylvania townships. This can provide insight into the kind and nature of community change. The most noteworthy aspect of these data, not apparent in conventional growth measures, is the magnitude of increases of residential property values in all growth categories, but particularly in the high growth townships. This kind of data could be calculated by countries or by regions; this might be more informative and useful to planners and researchers in such form. Comparing local data to regional, community, or state landmark data can help identify strengths and weaknesses or the particular nature of a community's growth.     

民勤沙区绿洲-荒漠过渡带典型植被群落物种多样性特征分析

为了探索绿洲-荒漠过渡带植被群落物种多样性特征,以及不同生活型植物在维持物种多样性和群落稳定性方面的机理,对民勤沙区绿洲-荒漠过渡带8种典型植被群落的物种组成、群落结构特征、物种多样性进行研究。结果表明：（1）灌木层在物种组成和数量上占有绝对优势,除红砂群落外,其他群落中灌木所占比例均在56.86%以上,多年生草本植物所占比例较小,在整个群落中仅占0.30%~3.14%（除沙蒿群落6.65%）,数量较稳定;（2）8个群落中白刺重要值最高,达84.41%,猫头刺群落最低为20.70%,其余6个群落在56.78%~68.07%之间;（3）8个群落多样性指数由大到小排列顺序为：猫头刺群落>绵刺群落>红砂群落>沙蒿>沙拐枣群落>珍珠猪毛菜群落>膜果麻黄群落>白刺群落,群落多样性指数均偏低,物种丰富度较低,生态优势度较高,种间相遇率偏低,群落中物种分布不均匀。说明民勤沙区绿洲-荒漠过渡带群落物种主要以矮化的小灌木、小半灌木为主,多年生草本植物所占比例较小,优势种群在荒漠灌木群落中的地位和作用非常突出,对群落结构、生态系统的功能过程和群落的演替方向,具有比其他物种更重要的作用,荒漠灌木群落由于缺乏冗余物种的支持,是一类不稳定的群落。     

莽山自然保护区南方铁杉种群物种多样性和稳定性研究

利用30个样地资料,对莽山自然保护区的南方铁杉群落的物种多样性与稳定性进行了研究,结果表明：（1）5个群落的丰富度指数、多样性指数和均匀度指数均存在一定的差异,它们明显受群落类型与群落结构的影响,群落结构越复杂,物种丰富度指数与多样性指数就越大,均匀度指数就越小;（2）5个群落各生活型的物种多样性指数存在一定的差异,但是差异不一定具有统计意义;（3）利用改进的M.Godron稳定性测定方法测得的5个群落的稳定性都极低,而且与群落多样性之间没有明确的关系,这说明群落处于一定的动态变化之中。     

The Future of State and Local Economic Development Policy: What Research Is Needed

Research will be more relevant to state and local economic development policy if this research focuses on research gaps. One gap is better estimates of how local labor demand policies affect local jobs. A second gap is better understanding of how labor supply policies affect overall local labor market outcomes, adjusting for spillovers and displacement. A third gap is better understanding of how effects of local employment shocks vary with local labor market conditions.