Economic Diversification and Economic Development in Appalachia

Economic development has been a concern for the Appalachian region since the decline of coal, timber, and agriculture. Recent efforts to diversify the Appalachian economy away from natural resource extraction by all levels of government and regional development organizations have lead to mixed results. This study looked at economic development efforts in among the most diversified and least diversified counties in the Appalachian Regional Commission service area. The study surveyed county administrators from these two groups in the areas of industrial recruitment/retention, development networks, and development policies/environment. In general, there were few statistically significant differences between the groups within the three areas of research interest.https://encompass.eku.edu/swps_facultygallery/1023/thumbnail.jp