CROSSING THE NEXT MERIDIAN: THE ECONOMICS OF RURAL-URBAN INTERDEPENDENCE, INSTITUTIONS, AND INCOME DISTRIBUTION IN THE AMERICAN WEST

This article explores and develops three ideas: (a) that the aridity of western North America and its attendant characteristics have fundamentally shaped the work of western agricultural economists and encouraged some distinctive western contributions to the study of economics; (b) that in order to understand economic relationships that are critical to rural western economic development, economists need to move beyond the standard equilibrium economic models and explore some emerging models of spatial development and institutional change in which the concept of “"increasing returns”" plays a key role; and (c) that the West provides a fine laboratory for testing these frameworks.Community/Rural/Urban Development,

CROSSING THE NEXT MERIDIAN: THE ECONOMICS OF RURAL-URBAN INTERDEPENDENCE, INSTITUTIONS AND INCOME DISTRIBUTION IN THE AMERICAN WEST

This paper explores and develops three ideas: (1) that the aridity of western North America and its attendant characteristics have fundamentally shaped the work of western agricultural economists and encouraged some distinctive western contributions to the study of economics; (2) that, in order to understand economic relationships that are critical to rural western economic development, economists need to move beyond the standard equilibrium economic models and explore some emerging models of spatial development and institutional change in which the concept of "increasing returns" plays a key role; (3) that the West provides a fine laboratory for testing these frameworks.Institutional and Behavioral Economics,

FINANCING K-12 EDUCATION IN OREGON

Public Economics,

POVERTY AND PLACE: A CRITICAL REVIEW OF RURAL POVERTY LITERATURE

Poverty rates are highest in the most urban and most rural areas of the United States, and are higher in non-metropolitan (nonmetro) than metropolitan (metro) areas, yet rural poverty remains relatively obscured from mainstream political and popular attention. This fact has motivated considerable research by rural social scientists on the relationship between poverty and place generally, and rural-urban differences in poverty, in particular. We provide a critical review of the literature on rural poverty, paying particular attention to methodogical and statistical challenges facing quantitative analyses. This body of research confirms the higher prevalence of poverty in nonmetro areas, and finds that while both compositional (individual) and contextual (structural) factors are at play, a complete explanation remains elusive. We note endogenous membership, omitted variable, and other challenges facing researchers, and conclude with suggestions for further research.Food Security and Poverty,

EMPLOYMENT AND EARNINGS OF THE WORKING POOR IN RURAL AND URBAN LABOR MARKETS

We use a unique administrative database to analyze the impact of labor market conditions on the employment outcomes of working poor adults in Oregon. Stronger labor demand conditions are associated with better employment outcomes. Lower earnings and less steady employment in rural areas are largely explained by higher unemployment rates.Labor and Human Capital,

THE IMPACT OF POPULATION GROWTH ON RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY TAXES

A multivariate model of the effect of population on local fiscal behavior, assessed value of property and average single family home values is estimated using cross-sectional data from Oregon. Regression results suggest that property tax levies are unit elastic with respect to population, that the total assessed value of property increases less than proportionally with population, and that the average value of a single family home increases with population. These results imply a positive relationship between population and both property tax rates and the tax bill of the average single family homeowner. Ceteris paribus, increases in average residential property taxes are associated with increases in population.Public Economics,

DOES ECONOMIC VULNERABILITY DEPEND ON PLACE OF RESIDENCE? ASSET POVERTY ACROSS THE RURAL-URBAN CONTINUUM

This paper uses Panel Study of Income Dynamics data for 1989, 1994, and 1999 to examine why some U.S. households are asset poor; that is, why households have insufficient resources to invest in their future or to sustain household members at a basic level during times of economic disruption. The study contributes to an improved understanding of asset poverty's correlates by examining the influence of place of residence; the extant literature has focused on individual-level explanations. We estimate a random-effects logistic model of the probability that an individual is asset poor at a given point in time as a function of household-level (e.g. age, gender, race of the household head and family structure) and place-level (regional and rural-urban continuum) variables. The central finding of the paper is that place of residence is an important determinant of asset poverty, above and beyond the influence of household characteristics. We find that living in a central metropolitan county and in a nonmetropolitan area is associated with a higher risk of being asset poor, all else being equal. Implications for future research are discussed.Food Security and Poverty,

PERSISTENT POVERTY ACROSS THE RURAL-URBAN CONTINUUM

Persistent poverty is overwhelmingly rural and is very geographically concentrated. We have redefined the USDA ERS persistent poverty classification to include metropolitan counties meeting the 20 percent or higher poor criterion and we extend the time period through the 2000 Census. With this updated definition, there are 382 counties that have had poverty rates of 20 percent or more in each decennial census between 1960 and 2000. These persistent poverty counties are overwhelmingly rural (95 percent) and disproportionately rural (16 percent of nonmetro counties versus 2 percent of metro). The local economic environment in persistent poverty counties is much less favorable than in the nation as a whole. Per capita income is lower and unemployment rates higher in persistent poverty counties. Employment is more concentrated in services, extractive, construction/maintenance, and production/transportation occupations. Residents of persistent poverty counties tend to have lower education levels, and persistent poverty counties generally have larger shares of minority populations. The number of persistent poverty counties reduced considerably during the 1990s, but the "leavers" were disproportionately metropolitan, making persistent poverty increasingly a rural problem. Persistent poverty is overwhelmingly rural and it is very concentrated geographically. In this paper, we examine these striking regularities in U.S. economic geography, seeking to understand the causes and dynamics of poverty across the rural urban continuum. We also consider how alternative characterizations of "persistent poverty" and "rural and urban" might deepen our understanding of poverty and place. The paper has four sections. In the first, we examine how poverty and persistent poverty vary across the Rural Urban Continuum Codes and Urban Influence Codes developed by the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS). We start with the very useful "persistent poverty" classification developed by ERS that defines nonmetropolitan counties as persistent poverty counties if the poverty rate is 20 percent or higher in each decennial census between 1960 and 1990.We redefine persistent poverty to include metropolitan counties meeting the 20 percent or more poor criterion and we extend the time period through the 2000 Census. We also examine where poverty is concentrated in the United States and how persistent poverty varies across the new Core Based Statistical Area definitions for counties, developed recently by the Office of Management and Budget. In the second section, we examine how the demographic characteristics of the population vary across the rural-urban spectrum, comparing persistent poverty county demographics with those of all counties. The third section examines the dynamics of poverty and place. We examine the location, rurality and demographics of counties that escaped persistent poverty statues between 1990 and 2000, and how those characteristics compare to counties that remained in persistent poverty. We then identify the new entrants into high poverty since 1960. In the fourth section, we consider implications of reconceptualizing both "persistent poverty" and "rural and urban diversity". First, we explore the "persistent poverty" county classification, and how alternative definitions of persistent poverty counties might alter the conclusions one reaches about the geography of persistent poverty. We do this by exploring how defining persistent poverty with a different base year such as 1970 or 1980 affects the number of "persistent poverty" counties. We then explore what happens to "persistent poverty" if we raise the poverty threshold to 30 and 40 percent in defining persistent poverty counties. We then examine how conclusions about rural and urban persistent poverty change if one looks at poverty persistence in individual households rather than counties. Using PSID data, this analysis examines rates of persistent household poverty by looking at how the percent of households who remain in poverty for all 5 years during the 1993-98 period varies across central metro county to remote rural county continuum (an aggregation of Beale codes). Finally, we briefly explore how conclusions about the geography of poverty change if one divides metropolitan areas into "central city" and "suburb", and nonmetropolitan areas into "adjacent" and "nonadjacent."Food Security and Poverty,

INTERREGIONAL EFFECTS OF REDUCED TIMBER HARVESTS: THE IMPACT OF THE NORTHERN SPOTTED OWL LISTING IN RURAL AND URBAN OREGON

A core-periphery, multiregional, input-output model of western Oregon is used to estimate impacts of periphery timber harvest reductions resulting from listing of an endangered species. Under the most probable scenario, 31,620 total jobs would be lost in the two regions. Fourteen percent of this impact is absorbed in the core (Metro) region. Forty percent of periphery and 80% of Metro jobs lost are from service sectors, a result of important core-periphery trade in central place services. Explicit inclusion of unemployment benefits for displaced workers reduces employment loss estimates by 12% to 14%.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Local Labor Market Conditions and the Jobless Poor: How Much Does Local Job Growth Help in Rural Areas?

The employment outcomes of a group of jobless poor Oregonians are tracked in order to analyze the relative importance of local labor market conditions on their employment outcomes. Local job growth increases the probability that a jobless poor adult will get a job and shortens the length of time until she finds a job. After accounting for both the effects of personal demographic characteristics and local job growth, there is little evidence that the probability of employment or the duration of joblessness differs in rural compared with urban areas.employment, local labor markets, rural labor markets, rural poverty, unemployment, welfare reform, Labor and Human Capital,