The Historical Industrial Development, Regional Economic Analysis, and Household Livelihood strategies of a Rural Pennsylvania Community: A Case Study

This dissertation research focuses on the case study area of Mount Union, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. This three part dissertation research project includes analysis of the historical industrial development, current economy, and household livelihood strategies of this rural community. The regulation approach is utilized in this paper to analyze the historic economic development associated with manufacturing, specifically brick manufacturing, in the case study area. Quantitative techniques are used to indentify the economic structure of a region and used to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the Huntingdon County economy. Qualitative methods are utlized to examine what economic and social adjustments and livelihood strategies are made in response to economic change