Community Economic Vitality: Major Trends and Selected Issues.

Intended for rural development practitioners and extension educators, this publication examines trends and issues in the revitalization of rural America. Chapter 1 defines community economic vitality as the capacity to ensure a flow of jobs and income over time; focuses attention on the realities of competition between communities and the essential role of state government; and argues that vitality requires equal attention to supply, demand, and institutional factors. Chapters 2-5: (1) describe the links between agriculture and other rural economic areas; (2) assess the outcomes of 25 years of rural industrialization; (3) discuss the effects of global economic restructuring on rural industrialization; and (4) document the recent growth of service industries in rural areas. Chapters 6-10: (1) question the utility of right-to-work legislation as a strategy of rural job creation; (2) support the argument that passive income (cash transfers and investment earnings) is an efficient instrument for economic development; (3) relate transfer payments to rising local wages in the 1960's but not the 1970's; (4) associate regional convergence of educational levels with convergence of southern and nonsouthern poverty rates; and (5) outline the distribution within the rural community of income gains in the 1960's and 1970's. Authors include: Gene F. Summers, Leonard E. Bloomquist, Thomas A. Hirschl, Ron E. Shaffer, Francine Horton, Glen C. Pulver, Priscilla Salant, and William Saupe. This document contains 82 references and 12 figures and tables. (SV)