Archive for Economic Development, Resilience, and Innovation
Early Growth, Limited Persistence: User Entrepreneurship and Firm Employment Growth
This study examines how firms founded by user entrepreneurs differ from other entrepreneurial ventures in their employment growth over time. The results show that firms founded by user entrepreneurs experience stronger employment growth during their first five years, particularly in the middle-to-upper portion of the growth distribution, but this advantage weakens as firms mature. These findings underscore the potential value of timely support from entrepreneurial ecosystem organizations.
Authors: Zheng Tian, Luyi Han, Timothy R. Wojan, Stephan J. Goetz
Publication: Journal of Business Venturing Insights Date Published: October 8, 2026
Tags: entrepreneurship, rural innovation
To Stay or Go? New Insights into Northeast Rural Households’ Intention to Move
In this NERCRD data brief, findings from the 2024 NER-Stat household survey shed light on which rural households are more likely to move and their reasons for wanting to do so.
Authors: Yuan Zhuang, PhD Candidate, Penn State Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology and Education
Publication: Published by NERCRD Date Published: August 24, 2026
Tags: data brief, NER-Stat
The impact of energy price shocks on US local industries: A state-level analysis
In this study, the researchers use annual panel data for the 50 US States to examine how local industries have adapted to energy price changes from 2001 to 2019. They estimate a recursive dynamic system to model how energy prices affect output both directly and indirectly through induced capital adjustment and energy intensity. They find that energy price increases reduce local GDP in the short run but also lead to long-term increases in energy efficiency.
Authors: Minsu Kim and Stephan J. Goetz
Publication: Energy Economics Date Published: July 15, 2026
Tags: energy
Exploring sustainable tourism indicators (STIs) for the U.S. with secondary data
In this article, the researchers propose using secondary data to develop a novel composite sustainable tourism indicator while also addressing advantages and limitations of the survey-based approaches used in Europe to measure sustainability in tourism. They apply this indicator to recreation-dependent U.S. counties and find that while some counties improve across multiple sustainability dimensions, others experience inconsistent trends, highlighting the complex relationships between tourism development and local community well-being.
Authors: Luyi Han, Stephan Goetz, Doug Arbogast, and Daniel Eades
Publication: Tourism Economics Date Published: May 22, 2026
Impacts of community reinvestment act designation on employment in the presence of spatial spillovers
This study investigates the impact of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) designation on the resident employment-to-population ratio in the USA from 2012 to 2019, using synthetic difference-in-differences method. It also examines how these effects differ among underserved populations and between metropolitan, micropolitan, and small towns and rural areas. The findings suggest that the CRA has contributed to meaningful gains in employment in underserved communities, while also generating broader economic effects in neighboring areas.
Authors: Anil Rupasingha and Stephan J. Goetz
Publication: Annals of Regional Science Date Published: May 19, 2026
Economic shocks, food insufficiency and mental health: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic
Millions of Americans experienced a sudden loss of income along with hunger early in the COVID-19 outbreak. Using Household Pulse Survey data from April 23, 2020 to March 29, 2021, the authors found that the pandemic significantly impacted both food sufficiency and mental health, with food insufficiency having a larger negative impact on mental health than income loss.
Authors: Yuxuan Pan, Linlin Fan, Stephan Goetz
Publication: Plos ONE Date Published: March 12, 2026
Tags: COVID-19, food security, mental health
Caregiving Along the Life Course Among Farming Households
This research was funded in part by NERCRD, and draws upon the Northeast and North Central Caregiving Survey conducted by the Regional Rural Development Centers. Using survey data from 704 farming caregivers in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest, the authors examine four research questions: 1) Who are the caregivers? 2) What resources does caregiving require? 3) How does caregiving impact farming caregivers’ finances and well-being? 4) What type of support do caregivers use and what support do they want?
Authors: Emily M. L. Southard and Florence A. Becot
Publication: Journal of Agromedicine Date Published: March 5, 2026
Tags: caregiving