Using entrepreneurial social infrastructure to understand smart shrinkage in small towns

Peters, David J.; Hamideh, Sara; Zarecor, Kimberly Elman; Ghandour, Marwan

doi:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2018.10.001

Cited by 55 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Given the inherent momentum of population dynamics, local population decline can be expected to continue across many parts of the United States, particularly within areas of rural America that have been characterized by sustained out-migration for many decades (Johnson 2011). Accepting that it may not be feasible to reverse these patterns, Peters et al (2018) and others have provided insight into policies that mobilize community resources to mitigate the most severe consequences of population loss. There are clear extensions in this line of work for anticipating and addressing how population decline will affect the distribution of income in rural communities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population Change and Income Inequality in Rural America

Butler

Wildermuth

Thiede

et al. 2020

Popul Res Policy Rev

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This paper examines the effects of population growth and decline on county-level income inequality in the rural United States from 1980 to 2016. Findings from previous research have shown that population growth is positively associated with income inequality. However, these studies are largely motivated by theories of urbanization and growth in metropolitan areas, and do not explicitly test for differences between the impacts of population growth and decline. Examining the effects of both forms of population change on income inequality is particularly important in rural counties of the United States, the majority of which are experiencing population decline. We analyze county-level data (N=11,320 county-decades) from the U.S. Decennial Census and American Community Survey, applying fixed-effects regression models to estimate the respective effects of population growth and decline on income inequality within rural counties. We find that both forms of population change have significant effects on income inequality relative to stable growth. Population decline is associated with increases in income inequality, while population growth is marginally associated with decreases in inequality. These relationships are consistent across a variety of model specifications, including models that account for counties' employment, sociodemographic, and ethno-racial composition. We also find that the relationship between income inequality and population change varies by counties' geographic region, baseline level of inequality, and baseline population size, suggesting that the links between population change and income inequality are not uniform across rural America.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population Change and Income Inequality in Rural America

Butler

Wildermuth

Thiede

et al. 2020

Popul Res Policy Rev

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show abstract

“…Given the inherent momentum of population dynamics, local population decline can be expected to continue across many parts of the United States-particularly areas of rural America that have been characterized by sustained outmigration for many decades and that are more recently experiencing natural decrease (Johnson 2011). Studies such as Peters et al (2018) have provided important insight into localized initiatives that promote "smart shrinkage" for rural communities that are experiencing sustained population decline. Accepting that it may not be feasible to reverse these patterns, these policies seek to mobilize community resources to mitigate the most severe consequences of population loss.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population Change and Income Inequality in Rural America

Butler¹,

Wildermuth²,

Thiede³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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This paper examines the effects of population growth and decline on county-level income inequality in the United States from 1980 to 2016. Findings from previous research have shown that income inequality is positively associated with population change, but these studies have not explicitly tested for differences between the impacts of population growth and decline. Understanding the implications of population dynamics is particularly important given that many rural areas are characterized by population decline. We analyze county-level data (n=15,375 county-decades) from the Decennial Census and American Community Survey (ACS), applying fixed effects models to estimate the respective effects of population growth and decline on income inequality, to identify the processes that mediate the links between population change and inequality, and to assess whether these effects are moderated by county-level economic and demographic characteristics. We find evidence that population decline is associated with increased levels of income inequality relative to counties experiencing stable and high rates of population growth. This relationship remains robust across a variety of model specifications, including models that account for changes in counties’ employment, sociodemographic, and ethnoracial composition. We also find that the relationship between income inequality and population change varies by metropolitan status, baseline level of inequality, and region.

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“…The identification of urban shrinkage is a controversial subject in the academic community, and there is no unified consensus. The majority of existing studies use the rate of population change to define urban shrinkage [34][35][36], and there is a lack of a multiple index to identify it. Multi-dimension indices can comprehensively evaluate town development, and avoid the typical limitations of single indices, however, the use of multi-dimension data to identify shrinking towns needs more practical verification.…”

Section: Data Sources and Index Descriptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small towns shrinkage in the Jilin Province: A comparison between China and developed countries

Yao

Liu

et al. 2020

PLoS ONE

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Urban shrinkage is currently spreading at global level. At the same time, the scale of urban shrinkage is not limited to urban agglomerations, metropolitan areas, or big cities, but begins to expand to a vast number of small towns. Over the years, the characteristics, models, and mechanisms of shrinkage in large cities have attracted the attention of scholars; however, the problem of shrinkage in small towns has not been fully discussed. In China, small towns are located at the margins of cities and are the first part of the countryside; hence, they are the link and the bridge between urban and rural areas, and a space carrier to solve the diseases of big cities and for rural rejuvenation as a whole. However, in the process of rapid urbanization, some small towns have experienced urban shrinkage, mainly through a decline in township enterprises and the deterioration of the living environment, which has restricted their role in coordinating the spatial support of urban and rural development. Therefore, a correct understanding of the shrinkage of small towns has considerable theoretical and practical guiding significance. We focused on the towns of the Jilin Province as the research unit, and combined township population, economy, land use, and employment indices to establish an urban shrinkage index, identifying the status, spatial distribution, and influencing factors of small towns shrinkage in the Jilin Province. Moreover, we analyzed the similarities and differences of small towns shrinkage between the Jilin Province and developed countries. The results show that small towns shrinkage in the Jilin Province shares similar characteristics with developed countries, as well as important differences in aspects such as population migration, low-level industrial structure, and administrative division adjustments.

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Using entrepreneurial social infrastructure to understand smart shrinkage in small towns

Cited by 55 publications

References 31 publications

Population Change and Income Inequality in Rural America

Population Change and Income Inequality in Rural America

Population Change and Income Inequality in Rural America

Small towns shrinkage in the Jilin Province: A comparison between China and developed countries

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