Title: Rural Development: Toward an Integrative Policy Framework
Abstract: Rural development is a field of study requiring policy decisions. In a purely market economy, markets determine what is produced and what is consumed. Seldom do we permit markets in rural regions to operate completely unregulated. Externalities of rural production systems, public good nature of certain rural infras-tructure projects, missing markets for rural amenities, and the importance of the distribution of benefits of economic growth enter into the political process of guiding rural development. Some policy makers view rural development as an end in itself, irrespective of the results on measures of welfare for rural and nonrural populations. In this manuscript we present a framework for analysis of rural development programs and policies. Markets are defined in terms of structure and regulation. Economic behavior of rural producers and consumers is specified, and ownership of resources is determined by economic class of households. The economic model is a form of regional general equilibrium where prices, quantities, and incomes are endogenous, and changes in welfare are measured by compensating variation. Results from two studies completed for the state of Oklahoma are presented as examples of applying the rural development policy framework.
Publication Year: 1996
Publication Date: 1996-07-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 4
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