PUB TYPE Books (010)-- Information Analyses (070)-- Reports- Research/Technical (143)

Intended for rural development practitioners and extension educators, this publication examines trends and issues in the revitalization of rural America. Chapter 1 defines community economic vitality as the capacity to ensure a flow of jobs and income over time; focuses attention on the realities of competition between communities and the essential role of state government; and argues that vitality requires equal attention to supply, demand, and institutional factors. Chapters 2-5: (1) describe the links between agriculture and other rural economic areas; (2) assess the outcomes of 25 years of rural industrialization; (3) discuss the effects of global economic restructuring on rural industrialization; and (4) document the recent growth of service industries in rural areas. Chapters 6-10: (1) question the utility of right-to-work leg:;_slation as a strategy of rural job creation; (2) support the argument that passive income (cash transfers and investment earnings) is an efficient instrument for economic development; (3) relate transfer payments to rising local wages in the 1960's but not the 1970's; (4) associate regional convergence of educational levels with convergence of southern and nonsouthern poverty rates; and (5) outline the distribution within the rural community of income gains in the 1960'