Overview
Unprecedented economic growth during the 1990s benefited
rural areas. Rural real per capita income grew from $16,506
in 1993 to $21,831 in 2000, and the percentage of rural
people in poverty fell from 17.1 to 13.4 percent over
that period. Welfare policy changes (including time limits
on assistance and stiffer work requirements) and the growing
economy contributed to declines in food stamps, assistance
to needy families, and unemployment insurance payments.
But, the 2001 recession caused rural income growth to
slow and poverty and assistance payments to creep back
up.
Despite rural growth prior to the recession, the large
gap between the average rural income and the much higher
average urban income remains. Recent research about food
security suggests that part of the income gap may be due
to lower costs
of living in rural areas. Stronger evidence points
to lower rural educational attainment, less competition
for workers among rural employers, and fewer highly skilled
jobs in the rural occupational mix.
ERS research in this area focuses on the economic, social,
and demographic factors that affect the income
and poverty
status of rural residents and their receipt of assistance
from Federal
programs, including food assistance programs. The
industrial sources of earned income vary widely across
rural areas. Social security and other retirement programs
play a large role in the economic status of rural retirees
and the areas in which they are concentrated. Changes
in welfare programs may disproportionately affect high
rural poverty areas. We conduct research at the family
(micro) and area (macro) levels to provide policymakers
with a detailed picture of rural income, poverty, and
welfare-program conditions.
Highlights
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