Rationalizing Rural Area Classifications for the Economic Research Service A Workshop Summary (2016) / Chapter Skim
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6 Uses of Current Rural Classification Systems
6 Uses of Current Rural Classification Systems
Pages 81-96
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From page 81... ...
He explained that national programs and private investors often bypass rural investment because of low capacity and a desire for high return on investment. In rural places, resources are scarce and policy makers have decided to set aside special funds for them, so a way to delineate eligibility for funding is needed.
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From page 82... ...
The Rural Electrification Act is another, as is the Food Deserts Program, now called Health Food Financing, which finances projects that help provide fresh food to areas that lack such access, whether rural or urban. Some of these programs provide a subsidy, often a loan subsidy to help grow the economy or provide economic opportunity for rural people.
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From page 83... ...
The more nuanced and different definitions make it hard for potential recipients to understand the reason why the policy exists. Recommendations for Ways to Better Target RD Funds O'Brien said that the report recommended that RD make use of a common population threshold -- any place outside of a city of 50,000 -- which would vastly simplify eligibility requirements.
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From page 84... ...
Parker said that rural classifications serve two main purposes: to identify underserved rural areas where distance from urban centers and low-population density leads to shortages of critical services such as health care and banking; and to identify and target federal assistance to distressed rural areas where distance from urban centers and low population density lead to a lack of economic opportunity. Many government agencies look at both, he said.
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From page 85... ...
Several rules have provisions that relate to mortgage loans made by creditors operating predominantly in rural and underserved counties or made in rural counties. For example, requirements under the Truth in Lending Act rule require certain creditors to create escrow accounts for higher priced mortgage loans, but rural and underserved counties are exempt from this requirement.
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From page 86... ...
Johnson reiterated the political economy of rural definitions mentioned earlier. These classifications determine program eligibility, and eligibility generates economic rents.
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From page 87... ...
Rural America continues to experience significant demographic change, he stressed. A rural classification system must facilitate tracking this change.
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From page 88... ...
These data reflect a dramatic slowdown in migration to rural America, leading to an actual rural net migration loss in recent time periods. They also reflect the rare phenomenon of adjacent counties growing less than nonadjacent counties in the most recent time period.
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From page 89... ...
Summary Johnson summarized the importance for a rural classification system to reflect contemporary rural America but recognize the importance of longitudinal compatibility; facilitate the timely analysis of demographic trends over both the short and long term; reflect the complexity and growing diversity of rural America; and be useful for policy making and for research, such as by providing continuum measures for researchers and categorical classification systems for policy makers. STATEMENT BY ROSE OLFERT Olfert focused on data requirements for rural classification.
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From page 90... ...
These functionally cohesive regions compete globally for economic activity and population, within a province or state, within the country, and in global terms. The regional or the functional economic area population size and characteristics, its economic structure, the industry structure of that area, and the amenities will be the determining influences for growth/decline in population and employment through migration patterns.
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From page 91... ...
The metropolitan statistical areas rely on commuting sheds, which Olfert argued is a reasonable approximation for functional economic areas. Only commuting flows are being measured, but those commuting flows represent many other things that demonstrate the economic dependency within the commuting sheds around urban cores of metropolitan statistical areas.
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From page 92... ...
Even though a county may look rural, it may not be in the sense of economic dependency and integration with the urban core. Summary Olfert summarized by saying that functionally integrated urban centered regions, differentiated by rural and urban especially at the periphery, are required as spatial units for data analysis.
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From page 93... ...
Until the answer to that question is known, Logan does not think there will be a lot of clarity about how to deal with it. He said measurement issues are familiar in urban and rural America.
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From page 94... ...
He wondered whether that might be driven by the questions of needs, unmet needs, or impact. Michael Woods commented on the ERS Natural Amenity Scale1 definitions.
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From page 95... ...
He noted the White House Rural Council includes all domestic agencies that do rural work and he offered to be a conduit to the other agencies. If the work on developing a new or revised rural classification scheme moves forward and ERS wants immediate feedback, he could pull together a small group of federal policy implementers.
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