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Natural resource dependence, although commonly invoked in natural resource sociology, has often been ambiguously defined. Communities are frequently described as dependent on natural resource development, but limited attention has been paid to what that means. In the literature, resource dependence is often treated as over‐specialization in, or over‐reliance upon, the natural resource sectors. However, the logic of over‐specialization conceptually grounds dependence in poor economic outcomes. Thus, a one‐dimensional typology of dependence based on a threshold of the share of development in the natural resource sector—as commonly used—does not fully capture the concept and risks tautology. In this paper, I address this ambiguity by formally defining natural resource dependence as over‐specialization in the natural resource sectors. I then present an ideal typology, known as the Natural Resource Community Typology, and a corresponding classification scheme for rural communities in the United States. The typology integrates both extractive and non‐extractive natural resource activity and has two dimensions—the level of development and the level of economic prosperity—and six mutually exclusive categories—extractive specialized, extractive dependent, non‐extractive specialized, non‐extractive dependent, hybrid specialized, and hybrid dependent. I classify counties from 2000 to 2015 and find that while extractive dependence decreased over the study period, non‐extractive dependence increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decade of the seventies thus far has witnessed a considerable amount of legislative attention directed at rural areas. Under the general heading or rural development no fewer than 48 bills were introduced in the first session of the 92nd Congress in the House of Representatives and 22 bills were introduced in the U.S. Senate. Few of these became law but the sheer numbers give some indication as to the political importance of the issues involved. The purpose of this paper is to focus on a portion of one of the most important pieces of rural development legislation, the Rural Development Act of 1972 (RDA-72). This article traces the legislative history and the philosophical assumptions of RDA-72 with particular regard to the provisions of rural industrialization in the U.S.

There are two hypotheses concerning how rapid growth affects women in rural communities: (1) women are more adversely affected than men, and (2) growth liberates women from their traditional sex roles. We used a specific subgroup of the female population-single, never- married females of marriageable age-to examine these two hypotheses. This paper focuses on how a male marriage-market squeeze caused by the influx of a large number of single, never-married males of marriageable age affects these females. The hypotheses, combined with proposals drawn from the demographic literature on marriage markets, are tested using data from counties in Montana and Utah impacted by energy development in the mid- and late 1970s. The measures used are changes in nuptiality rates and age patterns of first marriages. Our results do not allow us to fully accept or reject either hypothesis. Rather, changes in age patterns of marriage indicate that sorting out the local effects from the more pervasive social effects is problematic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the process of uneven development in the Deep South, focusing on the decade of 1970-1980. Measures developed from Census and County Business Pasterns data are used to examine several industrialization processes in all the counties of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Mississippi. These data reveal that changes in manufacturing establishments and employment are not uniform across the region, and low-wage industries continue to dominate the economy of the region. Further, the analysis documents the continuing significance of racial composition in these industrialization processes: plant and employment increases are more likely for predominantly white counties and losses more likely for counties having large black populations. Counties having high proportions of blacks and poor whites display the strongest attractions for low-wage industries. I also examine the effects of other labor-market characteristics upon the development process and suggest policy implications on the basis of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of an exploratory study of African Americans and underdevelopment in the Mississippi Delta. The primary focus is on race-specific factors and their associations with social and economic development in the Delta. Data were obtained from The Southern Growth Policy's Southern County-Level Data Files (U.S. Department of Agriculture 1985) and a content analysis of racial conflicts in Mississippi beginning with the 1950s through the 1980s. The results of the analysis show that racial conflicts and a high concentration of poor African Americans are associated with the lack of new technology industries in Mississippi's core Delta counties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using concepts developed to explain the emergence of public welfare in nation-states, this paper proposes a model for explaining welfare effort in communities. This strategy is premised on the assumption that social systems tend to exhibit similar processes whether they are small communities or entire nations. The model assigns prime importance to the influence of economic development as a cause of welfare effort. This relationship is intervened by considerations of urbanization, political environment, the level of government organization, and the presence of a dependent population. The model is tested with a sample of U.S. counties with data from secondary sources by factor and regression analysis. With few exceptions, the model is supported by the data. The implications of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diffusion theory and political economy are the two most common ways by which rural sociologists have explained the widespread use of agricultural innovations. In this paper, we argue, borrowing from science studies and using the empirical case of soybeans in Brazil, that the use of agricultural innovations is better understood as the result of the construction of networks of people and things. Thirty years ago soybean production in Brazil was insignificant. However, at that time a soybean network began to be formed. Initial actors were, among others, (1) soybean varieties produced in the United States, (2) wheat farmers located in the south of Brazil, and (3) soil in need of nitrogen, an expensive input for the new wheat varieties. State policies were no doubt important in consolidating that network. However, other persons, institutions and things were also necessary, including science and technology, the creation and/or expansion of farmers' organizations such as cooperatives, and the solution to the problem of photoperiod sensitivity in soybeans. We follow the soybean from its introduction in Brazil to its present status as an important crop. The overall context within which the soybean network began is also described. We conclude that the actor network approach is more congruent with the history of soybeans in Brazil than diffusion theory or political economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well recognized that the informal economy-unregulated economic activities that generate real or in-kind income-features prominently in the day-to-day lives of many in the developing world. Researchers have begun to explore the informal economy in developed countries but this work has focussed primarily on urban areas to the neglect of rural areas. In this paper the nature and correlates of informal work in nonmetropolitian Pennsylvania are described through an analysis of survey data on 505 families. Results indicate that participation in informal activities is widespread is not more typical of the poor does not contribute greatly to family income on average but those help many families whether difficult economic time is both economically and noneconomically motivated and net of other sociodemographic varaibles is positively related to rurality of residence and formal labor supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Emory-Obed Watershed in Tennessee, like many other rural areas throughout the United States, is experiencing changes in economic activities and social values associated with natural resources. Informed by the interactional approach to community development, this effort strove to build community capacity so community members could more fully govern their life according to their values and interests. We utilized key informant and focus group interviews to gain information about the watershed and to obtain different perspectives on resource-related issues. Data from key informant interviews led to the selection of a geographic community in which a community of interest was nurtured throughout a year involving monthly meetings, a community assessment and submission of a development grant application. It was found that gaining entry into the community and building trust among participants, and between participants and researchers, were critical in this in-place participatory community research. Lessons drawn from this experience applicable to similar efforts are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural communities rely increasingly on local development organizations (LDOs) to promote economic development. The rise of LDOs has been the source of much debate. Using a national data set that links local governments with development organizations, we contrast the economic development activities, and their outcomes, of local governments and development organizations in rural America. We find that LDOs are involved in more economic development activities than are local governments. They are more successful at business recruitment and more effective at retention/expansion, both in number of firms and in jobs. The organizational networks of LDOs and local governments consistently influence their effectiveness. Finally, we examine the effects of an LDO's presence on the outcomes of business recruitment and of retention and expansion activities. The results suggest that the LDO's success may be due in part to the networks in which they are embedded and to the amount of effort they make to promote growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the 1980–1990 period, employment in producer services industries in the nonmetropolitan United States increased substantially. This growth resulted in the development of nonmetropolitan growth nodes in producer services industries. A growth node refers to a nonmetropolitan area that contains a greater than average concentration of employment in a particular industry sector relative to other nonmetropolitan areas. Moreover, this industry concentration not only increases over time, but also represents an important source of employment growth within the area. With nonmetropolitan counties as the spatial unit of analysis, 317 growth nodes in producer services industries are identified for the 1980–1990 period. Access to workers with clerical and administrative support skills, access to highly educated workers, higher earnings per employed worker, access to recreational amenities, and proximity to metropolitan areas were associated with the development of nonmetropolitan growth nodes in producer services industries during this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between community characteristics and the acquisition of federal grant funds is estimated for a sample of municipalities in Pennsylvania. A structure-conduct-performance framework is used to predict positive, independent effects of community structure and community conduct on per capita receipts of funds for community development and economic development. Regression findings indicate that structure and conduct influence acquisition of funds for community development but that only the structural variables affect acquisition of funds for economic development. A significant statistical interaction, however, indicates that communities with high levels of both activeness and need receive more community and economic development funds per capita than do other communities. The findings support the idea that both structural and conduct variables affect local participation in the federal grant system [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1970, the long historic trend of net out-migration from Eastern, Kentucky has reversed to one of substantial net in-migration. Correspondingly, the past trend toward a more Concentrated settlement pattern has shifted to one of greater uniformity. These population changes have little to do with a revitalized coal economy, economic growth, or diversification, nor do they reflect the characteristics of the nationwide pattern of movement from metro to nonmetro areas. This research suggest that the migration reversal is primarily attributed to return migrants many of whom are moving to the most isolated parts of the Cumberland Plateau. An important factor affecting recent in-migration appears to be the influence of the stem family that encourages many former residents to return to the old homestead to wait out the economic hard times plaguing the cities of the North Central states. There is little evidence to suggest that enough economic improvement has taken place in Appalachian Kentucky to prevent a massive out-migration from recurring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural communities in the United States are often oriented toward the procurement of outside resources so that population and economic growth can occur. Western towns in harsh arid or semiarid environments seem especially prone to such a sociocultural pose. The idea of a "cargo cult" as a principle of community organization is useful in explaining how a small town can harness dramatic change for the good of local residents. This article reviews the significant features of cargo cults in Oceania and then applies the concept to a small community in the Western United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The elements of a social system are also, in a sense, the components of change. The Loomis and Beegle listing of "elements" is adopted here: end, norm, status-role, power, rank, sanction, facility, and territoriality. Suggested applications to Pakistanian culture of observed situations and practices in the United States are discussed with respect to their involvement of these designated components. The changes proposed relate to the "dignity of labor," use of mosques, volunteer leadership, water-storage ponds, developing "village businessmen," family planning, kitchen improvement, land division, health education, and farm supply co-operatives. The purpose of the discussion is to illustrate and emphasize the crucial importance of social components in whatever changes are proposed under the aegis of "community development." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]