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Migrant labor is a global phenomenon and remittances of migrant workers from non-industrial nations can play an important role in improving quality of life at family, community, and national levels. We focus on workers from Guatemala who obtain visas from the United States (US) Department of Immigration’s H-2B program that allow them to spend six or seven months a year planting and maintaining pine plantations in the southeastern US. Forestry is economically important in this region and the industry has come to depend on migrant labor. Our specific interest is how the H-2B program affects livelihood strategies of these workers, their families, and their communities. Based on primary data from 49 interviews conducted in eight Guatemalan communities, we explain motivations to engage in seasonal migration and positive changes brought about by the H-2B program in nutrition, housing, healthcare and long-term investments in agricultural lands, microenterprise development, education, and family stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alabama's forest products industry plays a dominant role in the state's rural economy. Examination of how access to employment opportunities is distributed provides insight into how the benefits of this industry are distributed. Based on a combination of available secondary data and semi-structured interviews with management and workers in the pulp and paper sector of Alabama's forest products industry, a clear picture of segmented labor markets emerges in which structural and cultural factors determine access to certain jobs. The evolution of these highly segmented labor markets is traced from deep roots in racial discrimination to contemporary efforts in support of affirmative anion. Increased use of sub-contracting in logging, hauling, and mill work represents the must recent change affecting the structure of labor markets associated with the production of pulp and paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alabama used property tax abatements extensively to recruit the pulp and paper industry that became the foundation of the state's economy. Our objective is to evaluate the tax abatement policy and its impact on local public education from the perspectives of key local leaders. Data include historical secondary data, a mail survey, and interviews with stakeholders in pulp and paper mill counties. Although tax incentives influenced individual companys' decisions to locate in particular communities, abundant wood, water, labor, and transportation resources were the principle factors attracting the industry to the South. Despite the economic stimulus of the mills, communities that used generous recruitment packages continue to lag behind other rural counties, the state, and the nation. Tax abatements, coupled with low property taxes, adversely affect funding for local public education. Under investment in human capital, we conclude, is the primary obstacle to the further development of these rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]