Distance From Urban Agglomeration Economies and Rural Poverty*

Abstract

Despite strong national economic growth and significant poverty reduction during the late 1990s, high poverty persisted in remote rural areas. This study uses a geographical information system county database to examine the nexus between rural U.S. poverty and remoteness. We find that poverty rates increase with greater rural distances from successively larger metropolitan areas (MAs). We explain this outcome as arising from the attenuation of urban agglomeration effects at greater distances and incomplete commuting and migration responses to lower labor demand in rural areas. One implication is that remote areas may particularly experience greater reductions in poverty from place-based economic development policies. Copyright (c) Blackwell Publishing, Inc. 2008

Inclusive growth? The relationship between economic growth and poverty in British cities

“…The result should be correlated with economic growth but independent of changes in poverty over this period. This is a similar instrument to that used by Partridge and Rickman (2008a).…”

“…Evidence for the global south suggests that, while growth can be positive for the incomes of the poor, the relationship depends on context and in particular the spatial and sectoral 'composition of growth' (Kraay, 2006;Loayza & Raddatz, 2010). Research for developed economies suggests a relationship between local employment growth and reduced poverty, although the relationship depends on local context (Partridge & Rickman, 2008a). Studies have also begun to consider the links between factors associated with growth, such as innovation or clusters, and poverty and inequality Breau, Kogler, & Bolton, 2014;Fowler & Kleit, 2014;Lee & Rodríguez Pose, 2016).…”

Defining frontier areas in the United States

“…Remoteness and small population size have been linked with persistent population loss and outmigration (Albrecht, 1993;Cromartie, 1998;Partridge, Rickman, Ali, & Olfert, 2008b); an aging population and natural decrease (Johnson, 1993;Johnson & Rathge, 2006); low median earnings, low housing values, and poverty (Partridge & Rickman, 2008;Partridge, Rickman, Ali, & Olfert, 2009b); and loss of retail and wholesale trade (Adamchak, Bloomquist, Bausman, & Qureshi, 1999;Henderson, Kelly, & Taylor, 2000;Wensley & Stabler, 1998). Research findings and policy applications have been limited to some degree, because previous frontier classification schemes lacked sufficient geographic detail (often classifying counties rather than smaller units) to capture the varying impacts of low-population density and remoteness on well-being.…”

Agglomeration, Congestion, and U.S. Regional Disparities in Employment Growth

“…Economic growth-measured by changes in output, wage, employment, and other economic indicators-is highly uneven among regions in the United States (Beeson et al, 2001;Rappaport, 2004;Partridge and Rickman, 2008). For instance, the employment growth rates between 2001 and 2010 vary from -5 percent to 10 percent among U.S. counties ( Figure 1).…”