Publications

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Tourism and Outdoor Recreation

Tourism, hospitality, and outdoor recreation make up rapidly growing segments of the U.S. economy and offer an important economic growth strategy to rural and urban communities of all sizes. NERCRD conducts research on the role of tourism in economic resilience. NERCRD also provides critical support to groups working in this area. Learn more in this NERCRD Digest.

Authors: NERCRD staff

Publication: NERCRD Digest Date Published: August 16, 2024

Tags: NERCRD Digest, outdoor recreation, tourism

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Innovation in Rural Firms

Innovation lies at the heart of most entrepreneurial activity, and the goal of NERCRD’s work in this area is to deepen the understanding of whether and how entrepreneurial innovation can mitigate the growing economic threats facing rural U.S. workers and communities. Through a USDA NIFA-funded project, which ran from May 2018 through April 2023, the research team used a newly available dataset that, for the first time, allowed for in-depth research to examine the roles of different types of innovation in the success of rural businesses. Learn more in this NERCRD Digest.

Authors: NERCRD Staff

Publication: NERCRD Digest Date Published: August 15, 2025

Tags: NERCRD Digest, rural innovation

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Advancing Agritourism

Agritourism is an opportunity for rural communities and farm operators to benefit from the growing consumer interest in on-farm experiences. NERCRD engages in several research and outreach efforts aimed at making this opportunity more accessible. Learn more in this NERCRD Digest.

Authors: NERCRD staff

Publication: NERCRD Digest Date Published: August 15, 2024

Tags: agritourism, NERCRD Digest

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Cloud computing and rural globalization: Evidence for the U.S. nonfarm economy

Abstract: We use confidential firm-level data to examine the association between export intensity and subscription to cloud computer services – a technology that often requires very high-speed broadband. Our focus on rural nonfarm exports is motivated by the increasing concentration of manufacturing—the dominant export sector—in nonmetropolitan counties and the large public investment in extending high-speed broadband to underserved parts of the U.S. We find that cloud computing is associated with higher export intensity that is consistent with exporting activity placing new demands on IT-enabled functions such as order fulfillment and tracking, marketing, or document control.

Read a news release about this research here.

Authors: Luyi Han, Timothy Wojan, Stephan J. Goetz

Publication: Telecommunications Policy Date Published: June 15, 2024

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The economic and social well-being of caregivers in the Northeast Region 

This “Research Snapshot” shares preliminary findings on the social and economic impacts of caregiving and reveal some of the unique data points available in the “NER-Stat: Caregiving Survey” — a regional household survey that the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD) conducted in collaboration with Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development (NERCRD), The Ohio State University and the National Farm Medicine Center. The survey was conducted in 2023 with 4,480 responses from the 13 states of the Northeast Region through a Qualtrics online panel. This publication provides insights into caregiver demographics, who is receiving care, the financial and personal impacts of caregiving, and the types of supports that caregivers seek. The dataset that this brief draws upon is also available online here: https://purr.purdue.edu/publications/4491/1

To learn more about this research and to access other briefs in this caregiving series, click here.

To access a version of this brief that focuses on the North Central U.S. region, click here.

Authors: Florence Becot, Shoshanah Inwood, Emily Southard

Publication: NERCRD Research Brief Date Published: July 10, 2024

Tags: caregiving

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