Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development

 

 

Publications

Publications by type:

 

Publications by topic:

 


Small and Minority Farmers’ Knowledge and Resource Sharing Networks, and Farm Sales: Findings from Communities in Tennessee, Maryland, and Delaware

A network analysis can quantify the depth and breadth of a farmer’s relationships with other local farmers, buyers and sellers, or other groups and organizations. Such an analysis can potentially also reveal farmers’ incentives, situations, and behaviors, and it may explain their economic success more generally. This study examines small and minority farmers’ networks using a primary survey in three farming communities. We emphasize networks related to production, marketing, and resource-sharing activities of 127 farmers (nodes) in Tennessee, 46 in Maryland, and 23 in Delaware, and compute three different measures of network importance or “centrality” for each farmer. We then use generalized least squares analysis relating farmer’s age, gender, race, educational attainment, labor use on the farm, and farm location to the farmer’s centrality position or importance in the network, defined by number and strength of links or connections. In additional regression analyses, we find significantly positive effects of the centrality position on farm sales of specialty crops: our model predicts that a farmer who adds one additional link or connection can expect a 19% to 25% increase in sales, all else equal. Our results can potentially be used not only to disseminate information more efficiently, but also to identify farm­ers who would benefit the most from more targeted extension services.

Authors: Aditya R. Khanal, Fisseha Tegegne, Stephan J. Goetz, Lan Li, Yicheol Han, Stephan Tubene, Andy Wetherill

Publication: Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development Date Published: April 17, 2020

View Publication

Religiosity and Regional Resilience to Recession

Literature shows that religiosity can provide individual resilience to life shocks as well as regional resilience to disasters caused by natural hazards. Related work has examined the complicated links between religion and economic growth. Yet few, if any, studies examine the role of regional levels of religiosity on a region’s resilience to recession—or how quickly the employment rate returns to pre-recession levels (a common measure of resilience in the economics literature). As the recovery period of the Great Recession cools and economists warn of future economic downturns, all known variables that may be linked with regional resilience are worthy of exploration. Using survey results from the Gosling-Potter Internet Project and General Social Surveys, we applied logarithmic functions to pre- and post-Great Recession employment data for 2,836 U.S. counties. We found a modest and statistically significant association between religious belief and regional resilience to recession. Religiosity was the strongest of sixteen psychosocial variables that we examined in association with the speed of job recovery; despite having negative links with other economic variables. This has particular salience for more rural economies; policy implications are discussed.

Authors: Raphael E. Cuomo, Daniel B. Davis, Stephan J. Goetz, Josh D. Shapiro, Mary L. Walshok

Publication: Risk, Hazards, and Crisis in Public Policy Date Published: March 23, 2020

View Publication

Explaining the spatial variation in American life expectancy

Since 1980, average life expectancy in the United States has increased by roughly five years; however, in recent years it has been declining. At the same time, spatial variation in life expectancy has been growing. To explore reasons for this trend, some researchers have focused on morbidity factors, while others have focused on how mortality trends differ by personal characteristics. However, the effect community characteristics may play in expanding the spatial heterogeneity has not yet been fully explored. Using a spatial Durbin error model, we explore how community and demographic factors influence county-level life expectancy in 2014, controlling for life expectancy in 1980 and migration over time, and analyzing men and women separately. We find that community characteristics are important in determining life expectancy and that there may be a role for policy makers in addressing factors that are associated with lower life expectancy in some regions.

Authors: Elizabeth A. Dobis, Heather M. Stephens, Mark Skidmore, Stephan J. Goetz

Publication: Social Science & Medicine Date Published: February 1, 2020

View Publication

The Role of Craft Breweries in Expanding (Local) Hop Production

Hop production has expanded dramatically in recent years along with the number of local craft breweries, but to date the relationship between these two phenomena has not been explored systematically. Using a state-level pooled count data model with observations from 2007, 2012, and 2017, we examine the independent lagged effects of breweries on the number of hop farms and acres grown, holding constant fixed effects and key economic and geographic factors. Our results confirm that the number of breweries is associated with more hop production (farms and acres) five years later, while warmer temperatures and higher land prices discourage it. (JEL Classifications: L66, Q11, R30)

Authors: Elizabeth A Dobis, Neil Reid, Claudia Schmidt, Stephan J Goetz

Publication: Journal of Wine Economics Date Published: October 22, 2019

View Publication

Problem of Low 2020 Census Participation Will Vary with Sociodemographic Factors and Distance from Metro Areas

With billions of federal grant dollars potentially at stake, every community has a vested interest in ensuring that its residents are accurately counted in the U.S. Decennial Census of Population and Housing. In the 2010 Census, 20.7% of eligible households failed to return their census forms, implying a response rate of only 79.3%. That amounts to about 22 million households not reached in the last census, the number of which not only affects the quality of the census but also may lead businesses and government officials to make inaccurate decisions when targeting specific populations.

Authors: Zheng Tian, Stephan J. Goetz, Charlie French

Publication: Choices Date Published: October 1, 2019

View Publication

Financial Impact of Penn State Extension’s Know Your Numbers Dairy Program

Dairy-related Extension programming is important in many states, but the economic impact of such programming has received little attention. We examined the impact of Know Your Numbers, an educational program offered by the Penn State Extension Dairy Team. Using follow-up evaluation data and the economic impact tool IMPLAN, we estimated that the program had a total financial impact of $9.5 million and an employment impact of 69 jobs in 2014. The overall financial impacts of the Dairy Team, given its abundance of other programming, likely are significantly higher. Our approach for estimating the economic impact of an Extension program can be used by others to understand and demonstrate the value of their work.

Authors: Aaron Berger, Timothy W. Kelsey, Stephan J. Goetz, Robert C. Goodling Jr., Virginia A. Ishler

Publication: Journal of Extension Date Published: February 1, 2019

View Publication

Excess Competition among Food Hubs

Food hubs offer a novel solution to connect small and mid-sized local farms, which individually
lack the scale to profitably market their products. Because many food hubs rely on grants and
philanthropy to provide services and are not necessarily profit-driven, markets may unintentionally
oversaturate due to overinvestment. We use a firm-entry model to estimate the average U.S. county
population necessary for one, two, and three food hubs to break even. Our findings suggest
that policy makers and philanthropists need to consider the carrying capacity of the local food
environment and population prior to supporting additional food hubs.

Authors: Rebecca Cleary, Stephan J. Goetz, Dawn Thilmany McFadden, Houtian Ge

Publication: Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics Date Published: January 1, 2019

View Publication

Health Insurance and National Farm Policy

In the midst of national healthcare debates, there has been little discussion of how health, healthcare costs and access, and health insurance fit into national agriculture policy efforts to build a more vibrant and resilient farm economy. Yet Inwood (2015) found that 65% of commercial farmers identified the cost of health insurance as the most serious threat to their farm, more significant than the cost of land, inputs, market conditions, or development pressure. In order to grow the next generation of farmers and increase rural prosperity, there is a need to understand how healthcare costs, access, and insurance affect both agriculture and rural development.

Authors: Shoshanah Inwood, Alana Knudson, Florence A. Becot, Bonnie Braun, Stephan J. Goetz, Jane M. Kolodinsky, Scott Loveridge, Katlyn Morris, Jason Parker, Bob Parsons, Rachel Welborn, Don E. Albrecht

Publication: Choices Date Published: March 1, 2018

View Publication

The interactive effects of human capital and quality of life on economic growth

To bridge the gap in the quality of life (QOL) and economic growth literature and understand the reinforcing effects of QOL and human capital on economic development, we examine the interactive effects of these two factors on wage growth from 2000 to 2007 at the county level across the United States. First, a Rosen–Roback model is employed to estimate implicit values of amenities including climate, clean air and other natural attributes, which are used to generate QOL indices. Second, QOL, human capital represented by the share of college graduates, and their interaction serve as key variables in the wage growth model. An instrumental variable approach and location fixed effects are used to address endogeneity of human capital and control for location-specific unobservable characteristics. Results suggest that human capital and QOL significantly contribute to economic growth and the growth effects are even larger in nonmetropolitan counties. Importantly, we find that the effect of human capital on growth is larger in high-QOL counties and QOL enhances the effect of human capital on growth. Our results provide empirical support for community development strategies through providing utility-enhancing amenities that improve QOL and retain human capital.

Authors: Qin Fan, Stephan J. Goetz, Jiaochen Liang

Publication: Applied Economics Date Published: March 19, 2016

View Publication

Newer posts