Rural Development Research: A Review of Key Issues

Bo Beaulieu

Southern Rural Development Center

2010 WAAESD/SAAESD Joint MeetingMarch 22-25 --- Virginia Beach, VA

ESS 2012 Working Priorities

• Bioenergy, Feedstocks, Bioproducts, Conversion and Logistics

• Health and Nutrition

• Climate Change, Mitigation and Adaptation

• Food Safety

• Food Security and Hunger

What Happens When You OpenYour Mouth !!

Where Rural Development Fits In

• Many 2012 ESS priorities will require social sciences and/or rural development inputs

• Purpose today is to identify rural development issues that could benefit from expanded research by LGUs

• Hope is to incorporate these in the:o Science Roadmapo NIFA’s Institute of Family, Youth and

Communities priorities

Source: Flor and Flora 2007

The Big RD Picture:Components of Vibrant Communities and Regions

Political Capital

Cultural Capital

Natural Capital

Human Capital

Financial Capital

Social Capital

Components of Healthy, Vibrant Communities &

Regions

Built Capital

Source: Flora and Flora 2007

Some of the Key Issues . . .

• Self-employment (economic capital)

• Creative workers (human capital)

• Broadband access (built capital)

• Regional development (multiple capitals)

• Civic capacity (social capital)

• RIDGE Food Assistance Center (shameless self-promotion)

Growth in the Rural Self-Employed

YEAR Total Workers

Proprietors(in 1000s)

% of Total Workers

1990 21,462 3,492 16.3%

1995 23,490 4,006 17.0%

2000 25,232 4,550 18.0%

2007 26,540 5,511 20.8%

Average Income of Non-Farm Proprietors in the U.S., 1990-2007

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2007

Metro Micro Noncore

Average Annual Earnings (in nominal $)

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Information Systems

Research Questions *. . . • What is driving self-employment

(i.e., opportunity or necessity)?• What strategies can strengthen earnings? • Do community policies matter (access to capital; health

insurance) to survival? • How can peer-to-peer networks in geographically

dispersed areas be fostered?• Can an area’s competitive advantages be

linked to new business start-ups and entrepreneurial activities?

* Drawn, in part, from insights provided by Stephan Goetz, NERCRD

•

Creative Workers in Rural Areas• Richard Florida has pretty much dismissed

rural areas as havens of creative workers• But others (RTS, ERS) have noted that

creative workers are present in rural areas:“The creative economy is populated by large numbers of microenterprises, enterprises without employees, part-time businesses, secondary or supplementary sources of income that are vital to a family’s livelihood . . . ”

• Includes arts, crafts cultural heritage, tourism

Creative Workers: Research Issues• How can we better map the presence,

nature, and impact of rural-based creative workers? What’s the “rural version” of Florida’s work?

• What factors are crucial for the development of an internal pipeline of creative workers?

• What are the key factors that attract creative workers to rural places? What community support systems are vital?

• What impact do creative workers have on the rural economy?

Regional Economic Development

• Many rural communities are struggling to survive in a highly competitive global marketplace

• Regional economic development strategies are becoming increasing more attractive to rural areas

• In January 2010, Secretary Vilsack stated that . . .

“an overhaul of our approach to economic development in rural America is long overdue.”

USDA’s Investment Plans . . .

• Pursue rural economic development on a regional basis

• Help regions prepared to pool their resources and talent

• Invest rural development program resources in a coordinated fashion

• Identify resources in other federal agencies to help advance regional development

Research Issues that LGUs Can Tackle

• How do we determine regional competitive advantage (approaches / tools)?

• What are the current & emerging opportunities (clusters, economic geography, innovation)?

• How does regional development get done (i.e., governance)?

• How do we measure impacts (on communities and regions)?

• What policies are crucial to helping regional development thrive?

Broadband in Rural America• Broadband Technology Opportunity Program

(BTOP) • Funded at $4.7 billion (NTIA & USDA’s RUS)• Three areas of focus:

o Deploy broadband infrastructure in

unserved and underserved areas;o Enhance broadband capacity at public computer

centers;o Encourage sustainable adoption of broadband

service

• Critical to track these investments and determine their impacts on rural areas

Rural Broadband Research Issues

• Refining measures to assess availability -- including determining what constitutes unserved and underserved areas

• Factors shaping broadband availability and its use

• Examining adoption/diffusion of broadband (by farmers, businesses, local governments, key community institutions)

• Impact on the local economy, such as. . .

o Does it attract knowledge/creative workers? Spur a growth in telework? Advance the use of e-commerce activities?

Investing in Civic Capacity

• Vitality of rural areas depends on an active citizenry

• Increasing cry by individuals and groups to have a voice

• What are the strategies for investing in civic capacity, in collaborative governance? What are the outcomes?

• How does population diversity and other local features shape capacity?

Another Wrinkle in Civic Engagement: Transdisciplinary Research

• This type of research calls for:o Expanded role of citizens in co-producing

knowledgeoUniversity researchers, practitioners, community

members, local leaders, business owners, and other beneficiaries working together in solving pressing local, national, global problems

• Increasingly, LGU-research will be urged to embrace this type of approach

RIDGE Center for Targeted Studies• SRDC selected as location of this new Center

• Funded by ERS/USDA

• Purpose is to explore the socioeconomic components of food assistance and nutrition issues

• Goals are fivefold:

o Focus on the needs of key populationsoExpand network of researcherso Invest in doctoral student research oEnhance linkages to eXtension CoPsoCommunicate findings to

a variety of audiences

Thank You