Trends in Successful Rural Economies

“Rural America produces much more than cows and corn,” emphasizes an article in the latest issue of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Main Street Economist.

The article points to a number of key trends in the rural economy, including rising agricultural productivity, the emergence of services as a vital economic sector, and a move away from commodity production. The authors point out that rural areas often don’t get credit for their dynamism because the most successful areas often “graduate” to non-rural status.

Formerly rural counties that have been reclassified as urban since 1970 grew in population by more than 80% between 1970 and 2000, the authors note, compared with a 32% growth rate for counties that were already considered metropolitan in 1970. Access the article at http://www.kansascityfed.org/RuralCenter/mainstreet/MainStMain.htm.

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Southern Compass is compiled from reports from the Southern Technology Council, the Southern Global Strategies Council, the Council on a New Economy Workforce, the Council on the Southern Community and Southern Growth staff. http://www.southern.org