Natural Resource Curse and Poverty in Appalachian America

The Appalachian mountain region has long been characterized by deep poverty which led to the formation of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) in 1965. The ARC region covers West Virginia and parts of 12 other states, running from New York to Mississippi (Ziliak 2012). The ARC region had an average county poverty rate of over 40 percent in 1960, about double the national average (Deaton and Niman 2012; Ziliak 2012). While the poverty gap between the ARC region and the rest of the nation closed significantly by 1990, it remained nearly twice as large in Central Appalachia. There are many reasons for higher poverty in Appalachia in general and Central Appalachia in particular. Possible causes include a low-paying industry structure, below average education, low household mobility, and remoteness from to cities (Weber et al. 2005; Partridge and Rickman 2005; Lobao 2004). A key distinction between Central Appalachia and the rest of the ARC region is its historic dependence on coal mining. There is long literature arguing that the area’s dependence on coal mining has contributed to its deep poverty through weaker local governance, entrepreneurship, and educational attainment, as well as degrading the environment, poor health outcomes, and limitations on other economic opportunities (Deaton and Niman 2012; James and Aadland 2011). These factors are broadly associated with the natural resources curse in the international development literature. More recently, the process of mountain top mining (MTM) has expanded coal mining’s environmental footprint in the region, possibly increasing health risks and further reducing the chances for long-term amenity-led growth that can alleviate poverty (Deller 2010; Woods and Gordon 2011). This study reinvestigates the causes of county poverty rates in Appalachia with a special focus on coal mining’s role. Using data over the 1990-2010 period we assess whether coal mining continues to have a positive association with poverty rates, even as the industry’s relative size has declined. We also appraise whether MTM is associated with higher poverty. We do this by comparing the ARC region to the rest of the U.S. and by using more disaggregated employment data that allows us to differentiate the effects of coal mining from other mining (versus aggregating all mining together as in past research). The results suggest that any potential adverse effects of coal mining on poverty have declined over time. Below, we first develop an empirical model followed by the empirical results. The final section provides our concluding thoughts

Deaths of Despair in Ohio: The Changing Landscape of Addiction and Suicides

IMPACT. 1: Growth in deaths of despair at the county-level, relative to other counties in Ohio and the national level. -- 2. Characteristics of counties that are more severely affected, including location, demographics, and industrial and labor landscape. -- 3. Inform policy-makers on growing opioid and overdose crisis in Ohio.OSU PARTNERS: Department of Human Sciences; Family and Consumer Sciences; OSU ExtensionPRIMARY CONTACT: Lauren Jones ([email protected]); Mike Betz ([email protected])We investigate how so-called deaths of despair (including deaths due to drug overdose, alcohol, and suicide) in Ohio have changed from 1999 through 2014. Using data from the CDC, we track patterns and trends at the county level. We also explore the characteristics of communities that have been particularly afflicted, including the demographics and industrial landscape

SWINE FARM BUSINESS ANALYSIS WORKBOOK

Swine Analysis Workbook Goal: For a one-year period, develop an accrual adjusted income statement.Livestock Production/Industries,

FIELD CROPS BUSINESS ANALYSIS WORKBOOK

Field Crop Farm Analysis Workbook Goal: For a one-year period, develop an accrual adjusted income statement.Crop Production/Industries,

FRUIT FARM BUSINESS ANALYSIS WORKBOOK

Fruit Farm Analysis Workbook. Goal: For a one-year period, develop an accrual adjusted income statement.Crop Production/Industries,

VEGETABLE FARM BUSINESS ANALYSIS WORKBOOK

Vegetable Farm Analysis Workbook instructions to develop an accrual adjusted income statement for a one-year period.Crop Production/Industries,

Country Road Take Me Home: Migration Patterns in the Appalachia America and Place-Based Policy

This research fills a void in the regional development literature by assessing how labor force migration affects regional adjustment in peripheral regions and whether it differs than the rest of the country. We do this by comparing patterns for the lagging Appalachian region to the U.S. as a whole for the 1990s and post-2000 periods. We appraise whether successful job creation helps the original residents seeking employment, or primarily goes to outsiders, rendering place-based development policy ineffective. In a novel addition, we also appraise whether local job creation is associated with attracting relatively wealthier net-migrants. Because different relative migration elasticities imply different responses for other labor market outcomes, we also assess whether employment growth supports original residents in terms of lifting median household incomes and employment/population rates and reducing unemployment rates and poverty rates. We find that migration post-2000 has become less responsive to employment growth differentials, which allows successful economic development to lift the employment prospects of original residents, which also produces a stronger response in reducing local poverty rates

What's Driving the Opioid Crisis? Pieces of the Puzzle

Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death among Ohioans less than age 55 . More than two million Americans are estimated to be dependent on opioids, and more Americans now use prescription painkillers than tobacco (Katz, 2017). The emergency nature of the crisis has fueled speculation and action that, in some cases, has generated unintended negative impacts. For instance, there is some evidence that reducing the availability of prescription opioids – through prescription drug monitoring programs, for example – may have increased use of non-prescription opioids like Heroine (Ali et al. 2017). However, in reality, researchers are just beginning to understand the underlying individual, community and health system causes of the epidemic. This presentation will provide an overview of the leading hypotheses intended to explain why some areas have experienced worse opioid misuse and death than others. Our talk will outline some leading theories, including supply-side theories that attribute the crisis to doctor, hospital and pharmaceutical company behaviors; economic theories, that attribute the crisis to economic declines in many communities; and mental health theories, that examine the role that underlying mental health conditions play in drug misuse. We will examine what evidence exists for each theory, and whether they help explain the patterns in drug deaths that we see in Ohio. We will also provide our view of areas that need more work, explaining why some types of research in the area are difficult to implement. The intended audience for this presentation includes other researchers beginning to examine the opioid crisis, and community partners on the frontline of the epidemic who are looking to understand its causes to implement effective treatment and prevention approaches. The co-presenters, Drs. Lauren Jones and Mike Betz – both assistant professors of human sciences, are working on several of opioid-related projects, including one that was recently funded by the Institute of Policy Research at Ohio State investigating the relationship between wage declines in certain areas and opioid deaths. Mike Betz recently presented a similar talk at the OSU Extension Family and Consumer Sciences conference.AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Lauren Jones, Assistant Professor, Department of Human Sciences, [email protected] (Corresponding Author); Mike Betz, Assistant Professor, Department of Human Sciences.Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death among Ohioans less than age 55. More than two million Americans are estimated to be dependent on opioids, and more Americans now use prescription painkillers than tobacco (Katz, 2017). The presenters will provide an overview of the leading hypotheses to explain why some areas have experienced worse opioid misuse and death than others. We will outline some leading theories, including supply-side theories that attribute the crisis to doctor, hospital and pharmaceutical company behaviors; economic theories that attribute the crisis to economic declines in many communities; and mental health theories that examine the role underlying mental health conditions play in drug misuse. We will examine what evidence exists for each theory and whether they help explain the patterns in drug deaths we see in Ohio

Country Road Take Me Home: Migration Patterns in the Appalachia America and Place-Based Policy

This research fills a void in the regional development literature by assessing how labor force migration affects regional adjustment in peripheral regions and whether it differs than the rest of the country. We do this by comparing patterns for the lagging Appalachian region to the U.S. as a whole for the 1990s and post-2000 periods. We appraise whether successful job creation helps the original residents seeking employment, or primarily goes to outsiders, rendering place-based development policy ineffective. In a novel addition, we also appraise whether local job creation is associated with attracting relatively wealthier net-migrants. Because different relative migration elasticities imply different responses for other labor market outcomes, we also assess whether employment growth supports original residents in terms of lifting median household incomes and employment/population rates and reducing unemployment rates and poverty rates. We find that migration post-2000 has become less responsive to employment growth differentials, which allows successful economic development to lift the employment prospects of original residents, which also produces a stronger response in reducing local poverty rates

Molecular Determinants of Agonist Discrimination by NMDA Receptor Subunits: Analysis of the Glutamate Binding Site on the NR2B Subunit

AbstractNMDA receptors require both L-glutamate and the coagonist glycine for efficient channel activation. The glycine binding site of these heteromeric receptor proteins is formed by regions of the NMDAR1 (NR1) subunit that display sequence similarity to bacterial amino acid binding proteins. Here, we demonstrate that the glutamate binding site is located on the homologous regions of the NR2B subunit. Mutation of residues within the N-terminal domain and the loop region between membrane segments M3 and M4 significantly reduced the efficacy of glutamate, but not glycine, in channel gating. Some of the mutations also decreased inhibition by the glutamate antagonists, D-AP5 and R-CPP. Homology-based molecular modeling of the glutamate and glycine binding domains indicates that the NR2 and NR1 subunits use similar residues to ligate the agonists' α-aminocarboxylic acid groups, whereas differences in side chain interactions and size of aromatic residues determine ligand selectivity