Cost-of-Living Differences in Urban Versus Rural Areas: An Analysis with Expenditure Data

This study illustrates the usefulness of consumer expenditure data for analyzing urban/rural differences in expenditure patterns. The primary findings are that when the effects of income, children, home ownership, aging, and college education are held constant, rural households spend a proportionately larger share of income on transportation, health care, and tobacco. Further breakdown within the category of health care reveals that health insurance, drugs, and medical supplies are responsible for higher expenditure by rural households. Within the transportation category, vehicles, gasoline, and oil are the sources of higher rural expenditure shares

Profiling Rural America: A Guide to Data Sources and Analytical Techniques

Evaluating the economic conditions of local economies is an important input to the decisions of policymakers, firms, and individuals. General impressions of the condition of national or state economies obtained from aggregate data often mask important substate differences in economic performance. State economic profiles are useful tools for presenting the dynamics of substate economic change. Because their economic conditions and environments can be very different, rural and urban areas are often compared in such profiles. This report describes the major components of a complete economic profile, with special emphasis on rural-urban comparisons. A catalog of data sources and a discussion of their value and potential abuses is provided. Techniques for deriving and interpreting meaningful information from the data are also presented

Exploring County Lines: Criminal Drug Distribution Practices in Scotland

The concept of ‘County Lines’ denotes an exploitative type of illegal drug distribution and dealing criminal enterprise that is indicative of the development of new strategies to underpin criminal markets in Britain. It is a growing phenomenon characterizing the evolution and working of drug distribution networks in contemporary Britain which often establish ‘nests’ in the homes of vulnerable persons domiciled within drug traffic hubs. This article draws upon qualitative data generated from interviews with active and former offenders and members of intervention agencies in order to understand more about the denizens of this embryonic criminal world

Inside Out Outside In: In Search of ‘Gangs’, Finding Outside-In Groups and the Dual Parallax of Spaces and Positions

Through a Zizekian framework, this article explores a doubled precarity as experienced by individuals involved in groups described as ‘gangs’. This dual precarity being the inability to parallel mainstream discourses of security, and abstracted precarity of mirrored images of ‘mainstream’ groups. The paper outlines brittle relationships between these two poles and the stories relating to learning and be-coming within such groups. These precarious relationships resonate Zizek's proposal of the '... blind leading the blind, or, more precisely, the blind leading the blind ...' (Zizek, 2012: 89). This paper explores the precariaty / precariaty of learning to be within such groups and the value of the story of becomingpredominantly through the lens of a case study focusing on Participant 1 and supported through vignettes from encounters with other participants

The Influence of Location on Productivity: Manufacturing Technology in Rural and Urban Areas

Policies to counter the growing discrepancy between economic opportunities in rural and urban areas have focused predominantly on expanding manufacturing in rural areas. Fundamental to the design of these strategies are the relative costs of production and productivity of manufacturing in rural and urban areas. This study aims to develop information that can be used to assess the productivity of manufacturing in rural and urban areas. Production functions are estimated in the meat products and household furniture industries to investigate selected aspects of the effect of rural, small urban, and metropolitan location on productivity. The results show that the effect of location on productivity varies with industry, size, and the timing of the entry of the establishment into the industry. While the analysis is specific to two industries, it suggests that development policies targeting manufacturing can be made more effective by focusing on industries and plants with characteristics that predispose them to the locations being supported

State Economic Development Information Systems

The expanded role of state governments in economic development has increased their need for a wide variety of economic, demographic, and marketing information. Many state governments have responded to these needs by developing systems to deliver economic and related information to state and local economic development offices, businesses, and the general public. This paper reports the results of a survey of economic development officials designed to disclose information about how extensive automated system development is, as well as to learn about system structure and operating characteristics, the quality and quantity of the data distributed, and any particular system strengths and weaknesses. A clear definition of agency goals, cooperation among state agencies, and communication with the targeted users are found to be important to the success of a development data system

Educating 'Gangsters': Social space, informal learning and becoming 'Gang' involved

This research focuses on the previously neglected topic of how people are educated into groups commonly described as ‘gangs’; in particular, this thesis outlines the role that social space plays in such educative processes. This focus enables both a new contribution to knowledge in the field of ‘gang’ studies and understandings of the way social space is used, understood and perceived by those involved in ‘gangs’. Much research exists in the field of ‘gang’ studies spanning various disciplines and sub-fields. The existing literature on ‘gangs’ predominantly engages with typographies, definitions and prevention; the majority of which stems from a criminological perspective. There has been no direct attempt to explore the ways in which people are educated into ‘gangs’ thus far. Rather than begin from any predetermined assumptions, this research centred on people who have been involved with or affected by ‘gangs’ in order to begin from the lived experiences of those involved or affected. In-depth interviews were carried out with twenty-two participants who are, or were: involved in ‘gangs’; family members of ‘gangs’; and professionals who work with ‘gangs’ (most of whom were previously involved in such groups themselves). Other ethnographic methods were utilised alongside interviews: primarily overt, with some covert participant observations. Ethnographic aspects of the research were undertaken during a twelve-month period in social spaces that were highlighted by participants as being synonymous with, and frequented, by ‘gangs’. This thesis highlights the conditions, structures, agentive responses and social spaces that form the educative processes for becoming involved in ‘gangs’. My contribution to knowledge herein demonstrates how: education within ‘gangs’ takes place through stories, social haunting and reflection within third places and the wider community; occurs under structural conditions but is mediated by agentive choice; social space fosters a community spirit and offers the opportunity to become someone

Productivity and the prospects for outgrowing the budget deficit

Labor productivity ; Budget ; Deficit financing

Measuring Dynamic Patterns in the Structure of Economies

The objective of this study was to explore a new method of analyzing the performance of substate economies. A major limitation of conventional analyses of economic diversity and growth is the reliance on static measures of economic structure. Such measures do not capture the patterns of growth dynamics or structural change the region may be experiencing. This paper discusses a new measure of dynamic economic diversity and explores its relationship to economic performance. The measure is a statistical index that reflects the degree to which employment in a county\u27s industries move together over time. The more the industries\u27 employment levels move together, the higher the value of the index. A high index indicates a high degree of regional economic integration