Publications

The Complex Picture of Caregivers’ Health and Well-Being in the Northeast Region

Caregiving can be both a source of joy and stress for caregivers due to the lived realities of care provision and financial implications. In this brief, we explore the emotional and financial well-being of caregivers and assess differences across type of caregiving provided, gender, race-ethnicity, household income level, and geographic location.

Authors: Elena Pojman, Florence Becot, and Shoshanah Inwood

Publication: Published by NERCRD Date Published: October 17, 2024

Tags: caregiving

What supports do caregivers in the Northeast use and what support do they still need?

Providing care to children and adults requires time and resources. This brief explores the supports that caregivers use and the supports they still need. Since the caregiving needs of children and adults vary, this analysis includes variations on supports used based on the type of care provided.

Authors: Emily Southard, Florence Becot, Shoshanah Inwood

Publication: Published by NERCRD Date Published: October 1, 2024

Insights and oversights: Behind the data on agritourism and direct sales in the United States

Abstract: Agritourism is growing worldwide as farmers and ranchers seek alternative sources of revenue, and consumer demand for agricultural experiences is on the rise. Understanding this sector is important for policymakers, researchers, agricultural service providers, and others seeking to support farm viability and rural entrepreneurship. However, in the U.S., this support is hampered by the lack of a clear definition and consistent, comprehensive means for measuring the agritourism sector. To illustrate the limitations, we highlight cases from two U.S. states (Texas and Vermont), where different forms of agritourism are present.

Authors: Chadley R. Hollas, Claudia Schmidt, Zheng Tian, Stephan J. Goetz, and Lisa Chase

Publication: Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development Date Published: August 26, 2024

Tags: agritourism

Land-Grant University Capacity to Support Recreation Economies in National Forest Gateway Communities

This report was developed by Doug Arbogast, Rural Tourism Specialist, West Virginia University Extension Service, with support from the Extension Foundation, Regional Rural Development Centers (RRDCs), and the members of the National Extension Outdoor Recreation Working Group (NEORWG). It describes findings from an assessment conducted in 2024 of the capacity of Land Grant Universities to provide both Extension and research support for the development of recreation economies, and to determine the places in each RRDC region best positioned to deploy resources for program implementation. Arbogast’s analysis also includes two map resources:

• A data dashboard showing USDA RD investments already made in counties that contain a national forest.
• A map designed to identify opportunities for USDA Partnerships (Extension, Forest Service, and Rural Development) to support the development of recreation economies in gateway communities to U.S. National Forests. This map’s layers include Land Grant institutions that responded to the recreation economy survey, USDA Rural Development locations, USDA Forest Service locations, National Forest gateway communities, and regions served by the National Extension Tourism Network and the RRDCs.

Authors: Doug Arbogast, West Virginia University

Publication: Published by Extension Foundation and NERCRD Date Published: September 20, 2024

Tags: neorwg, NET, outdoor recreation

2023 National Extension Tourism Conference Proceedings

With administrative support from the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, the National Extension Tourism Network (NET) has published proceedings from its 2023 national conference, which took place in Milwaukee, WI, September 24-27, 2023.

Authors: Edited by: Lisa Chase, Natalie Chin, Douglas Arbogast, Gwynn Stewart, Ann Savage, Mercedes Fraser

Publication: Published by the National Extension Tourism Network Date Published: September 18, 2024

Tags: NET

Did the U.S. Fracking Boom Shale-Shock Regional Patenting?

The shale boom of the early 21st century turned the U.S. into an energy powerhouse and significantly disrupted local economies with shale resources. This study examines the impacts of the U.S. shale boom on regional patenting at a commuting zone level. The shale boom may negatively affect patents if it crowds out labor and capital investments in other non-energy industries. Our findings show that a one standard deviation increase in non-vertical well density decreases patent intensity by 3.74% of the mean. Areas with higher drilling densities have lower levels of patented innovation compared to their counterfactuals. This paper contributes to the existing literature related to the “natural resource curse.” We provide new evidence based on regional patenting, which is an important indicator for regional innovation and long-term economic growth.

Authors: Luyi Han, John V. Winters

Publication: Growth and Change Date Published: September 17, 2024

Tags: natural resources, research, rural innovation

Detecting Food Shortages Using X

NERCRD researchers along with faculty from the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS) in the College of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State University and the Qatar Computing Research Institute at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar studied whether tweets posted on Twitter (now X) can be used to predict real-time food shortages during crises such as pandemics, wars, or natural disasters. Learn more in this NERCRD Digest.

Authors: NERCRD

Publication: NERCRD Digest Series Date Published: September 16, 2024

Tags: COVID-19, NERCRD Digest

Food Insufficiency and Anxiety

Researchers from the NERCRD and the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology and Education at Penn State University used Household Pulse Survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau to address questions about food insufficiency and mental health. Learn more in this NERCRD Digest.

Authors: NERCRD Staff

Publication: NERCRD Digest Date Published: September 5, 2024

Tags: food security, NERCRD Digest

Meeting Emergency Food Needs

A study on the role of community food services during the COVID- 19 pandemic revealed that community food services, including food pantries and soup kitchens, were crucial in helping Americans meet their food needs, especially in the first five months of the pandemic. Learn more in this NERCRD Digest.

Authors: NERCRD Staff

Publication: NERCRD Digest Date Published: August 20, 2024

Tags: COVID-19, food security, NERCRD Digest

Rural Tourism During COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on U.S. tourism, but its effects were not uniform across the country. A study conducted by researchers from Penn State and West Virginia University reveals that some rural communities actually experienced employment gains in the leisure and hospitality sector during this period. Learn more in this NERCRD Digest.

Authors: NERCRD Staff

Publication: NERCRD Digest Date Published: August 20, 2024

Tags: COVID-19, NERCRD Digest, outdoor recreation, tourism