Showing papers on "Rural area published in 1981"

Farmland Values at the Urban Fringe: An Analysis of Sale Prices

Abstract: Several researchers have statistically explored the importance of various factors in determining urban land values or agricultural land values (e.g., Downing 1973; Richardson, Vipond, and Furbey 1974; eiss and Kensil 1979; Jennings and Kletke 1977). Few empirical analyses, however, have concentrated on land values in urban fringe areas, where agricultural and urban forces interact and complicate the estimation and understanding of values.' The rural-urban fringe generally includes those areas bordering central cities, surrounding close-in suburbs and noncontiguous nearby towns, and extending into the adjacent, open countryside. It is in these areas that urban demands for farmland are substantial; present and expected shifts from agricultural to urban uses are a major market phenomenon. Generally, the interaction of agricultural and urban market forces in fringe areas results in increased values accruing to farmland owners. But because of uncertainties of actual urban conversion and the usual intermix of land uses, conflicts often emerge. Property taxes become burdensome for profitable agricultural use. Tax burdens and benefits may become unbalanced, and agricultural investments are often prematurely foregone. Various forms of preferential assessment of agricultural lands and growth management policies have been discussed or adopted in many states and localities in response to public concern for fringe area land-use probSeveral r searchers have statistically explored the importance of va ious factors in determining urban land values or agricultural land values (e.g., Downing 1973; Richardson, Vipond, and Furbey 1974; Reiss and Kensil 1979; Jennings lems (Regional Science Research Institute 1976). The purpose of this paper is to explore the natu al and man-made factors that affect t e price of farmland in an urban fringe market, including factors not reported in previous studies. This is accomplished by the development and empirical estimation of a hedonic price model for an urban fringe farmland market near Chicago, Illinois. First, the model is presented with expectations about the impacts of land characteristics and institutional factors on urban fringe farmland prices. The study area and data are then briefly described, followed by the presentation of the model estimates. Finally, some implications are discussed.

The Prevalence of Diabetes in the Rural and Urban Polynesian Population of Western Samoa

Abstract: Rural-urban comparisons of diabetes prevalence were made in the Polynesian population of Western Samoa. The prevalence of diabetes in the urban population was almost three times that in the rural (10.1% versus 3.6%). While the urban male and female subjects were significantly more obese than their rural counterparts, the difference in prevalence rate could not be wholly explained on this basis. Diabetes prevalence was still approximately double in urban subjects when we compared the rural and urban populations after removing the differences in obesity and age. The results suggest that, apart from age and obesity, other factors, e.g., differences in diet, physical activity, or stress (or a combination of these), may participate in the rural to urban difference in diabetes prevalence.

An apparent inverse relationship between serum cholesterol and cancer mortality in puerto rico

Abstract: In the Puerto Rico Heart Health Program, a prospective epidemiologic study, 9824 men living in defined urban and rural areas of Puerto Rico have been followed for approximately eight years. Periodic examinations have been used to assess potential cardiovascular risk factors and to monitor coronary heart disease events. Although the emphasis of the study has been oriented to cardiovascular disease, all causes of death have been closely monitored. During the observation period, 179 deaths from cancer have occurred in the age group 45--64 years. The distribution of cancer deaths varies from that of the mainland, with a greater percentage being oral, pharyngeal and stomach, and a lesser frequency being lung. Serum cholesterol measured at the first examination in 1965 was found to vary inversely with subsequent mortality from cancer. This trend was significant overall for the rural area and in the age group 45--54 years in the urban area. Multivariate analysis with other covariables did not eliminate the cholesterol relationship in the rural men, although relative weight, ventricular rate, hematocrit and cigarette smoking made independent contributions in certain age groups in both locations. The association between serum cholesterol and cancer mortality in the rural area and in the young urban area suggests that further investigation is needed to determine whether the relationship is causal, a secondary association to some other unidentified set of primary factors, or merely a physiological reaction to early and undiagnosed stages of the cancer process.

Contractual arrangements, employment and wages in rural labor markets : a critical review

Abstract: The focus of the literature concerned with economic development has shifted its focus to attempting to understand the institutions and the behavior of individuals and families in rural areas. This critical review examines the various models and theories of labor markets and tenancy with attention to the issues of absent markets, market failure, collusive power, and the interdependence of markets. A central theme is that an understanding of institutional arrangements or imperfections in any one market (e.g. labor) requires attention to the imperfections in or constraints on other markets (e.g. land, credit). Without integration of these interrelated markets into a single coherent rural model, the ability to predict the consequences of economic development within the rural sector will be severely handicapped. The current proliferation of models are not adequate; future models must take assumptions that are at variance with the complexities of the real world, but are essential for predicting rural economic behavior.

Problems in Implementing Comprehensive Special Education Programing in Rural Areas

Abstract: Data were collected for the National Rural Research and Personnel Preparation Project, funded by the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped, to investigate problems in implementing comprehensive special education programs. Cultural, geographic, climatic, socioeconomic and other inhibiting factors were analyzed in relation to implementation of Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. Although all major aspects of P.L. 94-142—the concept of the least restrictive environment; due process procedures; individualized education programs (IEP's); and parent involvement—were identified as problems for rural schools, three primary hindering factors were identified: (1) teacher retention and recruitment problems, (2) rural attitudinal problems, and (3) problems based on rural terrain. It was found that these problems emanated from tradition bound rural environments and were exacerbated by geographic and climatic demands of remote, isolated areas. The initial study was followed by a...

Renewable Energy Sources and Rural Development in Developing Countries

Abstract: Economic and geopolitical constraints on global nonrenewable energy supplies will force many nations, especially the developing countries, to accelerate their use of local renewable energy sources. This paper discusses some of the technical, economic, and socioeconomic aspects of the application of renewable (solar) energy sources for rural development in resource-poor population-rich developing countries. The possible role of educational institutions in the U.S. and in the developing countries in assisting in the successful introduction of solar technologies in rural areas is outlined. A selected bibliography is included for the benefit of readers interested in additional information on this important topic.

New directions in urban-rural migration: the population turnaround in rural America

Abstract: The papers in this volume focus on the determinants and consequences of the population turnaround in the United States and on the resurgence of population and economic growth in rural America (ANNOTATION)

The rural exodus in Mexico and Mexican migration to the United States.

Abstract: Migration out of rural areas, a pervasive movement in most developing countries since the fifties, began in Mexico after the turn of the century and greatly intensified in the last three decades. During this same period, as Bustamante’s (1977) and Garcia’s (1983) historical research has shown, labour conditions in the United States attracted Mexican migrants, mostly from rural areas, in sharply fluctuating patterns of active recruitment, laissez-faire, or repatriation. Because these two movements have varied simultaneously and because they are interrelated, it has been assumed that the rural exodus in Mexico generally explains the flow of migrants across the border to the United States. This chapter will argue that they must be analysed instead as two distinct movements. Data will be presented to show that most of the migrants created by the prevailing conditions in Mexican rural villages settle within Mexico, and that only specific types of migrants are attracted over the border.

Land Markets at the Urban Fringe New Insights for Policy Makers

Abstract: This article reports the results of an extensive survey of owners of undeveloped land outside the Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Calgary, Sacramento, and Toronto metropolitan areas. After identifying several distinct owner types, the authors demonstrate that changes in ownership, as well as in the character and use of land, begin more than twenty years before the rural countryside is actually converted to urban use. These findings have important implications for the design and implementation of policies attempting to control or direct urban growth. In particular, the factors responsible for land turnover constrain the ability of preferential tax treatment policies and subdivision controls to achieve their goal of preserving rural land. Analysis of the survey results also suggests that carefully designed growth controls may be more effective than speculative taxes in reducing investment activity at the urban fringe. None of these measures, however, will lower the price of developable land or prevent me...

The Effect of Mainstream Religious Social Controls on Adolescent Drug Use in Rural Areas

Abstract: Religion has been described as one of several controls on deviance. This paper addresses the controlling effects of several dimensions of commitment to mainstream religion on rural adolescent drug use. The sample includes both rural and urban adolescents. The findings suggest that while religious commitment is one of the more powerful forms of social control on drug use, the regulatory power of all social controls, including dimensions of commitment such as church attendance and salience, decline as the seriousness of the drug use increases. Religious preference was found to have little significant impact on either rural or urban drug use.

Environmental sanitation infection and nutritional status of infants in rural St. Lucia, West Indies

Abstract: About 75 babies in each of three valleys were followed up for two years. The valleys had different levels of water supplies and latrine facilities, whereas socio-economic conditions and feeding patterns were similar. Results show that the prevalence of diarrhoea and intestinal helminths reduced as sanitation improved. Ascaris and Trichuris infections dropped 30 and 50% respectively after water supplies and latrines were installed. The growth of the children was significantly better in the improved areas. The possibility of malnutrition being secondary to illness, rather than primary, is included in the discussion.

A model for rural psychiatric services-raipur rani experience.

Abstract: During the last five years efforts have been directed to understand the needs of the mentally ill persons residing in the rural areas. An outcome of our work involving 60,000 people living in a geographically defined area in Ambala District of Haryana has resulted in a realistic model for wider application in the country. The project work has led to the development of a number of research instruments and data regarding the prevalence of mental illness in the rural areas. A method for identifying mentally ill and to study the community attitudes has also been developed. The preparation of the Manual and simple training programmes has been a significant contribution. Knowledge regarding the practical problems of supervision and support of peripheral health workers in carrying out mental health work has been gained. The formation of the Mental Health Association by the village leaders has enhanced the community awareness and involvement in the ongoing programme of care.It is hoped that the experiences and the results of the above research work would act as a stimulant for similar experiments and further refining of the needed expertise and data for making mental health care a reality at the primary health care in the near future.

Natural decrease in early modern cities

Abstract: Comments are presented on Sharlins argument that "the combination of natural decrease in early modern cities and natural increase in the countryside did not prove that urban mortality was very much higher than rural mortality or that cities would have declined in population without immigration." Data from several European countries are discussed. A reply by Sharlin is also included. (EXCERPT)

City Bias and Rural Neglect: The Dilemma of Urban Development

Abstract: Focus in this discussion is on the complex problem of the rapid population growth in the major cities of developing countries. Urbanization problems and policy options are analyzed in the context of wider social economic and demographic considerations and appropriate government policy responses are suggested within the broad sweep of general development strategies. Many of the cities of the developing world are growing at an extremely rapid pace and are becoming unmanageable. In 1950 only 4 of the worlds 15 largest cities were located in developing countries but 12 will be by the year 2000. The rapid urbanization of much of the developing world is an outgrowth of a philosophy and a failed strategy of development that has emphasized industrial and urban growth at the expense of agriculture and rural development. The way to overcome the problems of rapid urbanization is with policies that are more evenly balanced between the needs of the cities and of the rural areas. If urban economic social and educational preferences are not reduced rural areas will never be able to develop fully and the major cities will continue to grow rapidly. In regions where it is not feasible to stimulate both the industrial urban and the rural sectors it is time to give relatively less to the cities. Most developing nations have recently become concerned about the degree of overurbanization they are experiencing. Some 94 countries on all continents reported in a 1977 U.N. survey that they had adopted policies to affect the distribution of their population ranging from trying to slow or even reverse migration to cities to lowering fertility rates.

Rural Household Studies in Asia

Abstract: The papers published in this book were selected from those presented at a workshop organized by the Agricultural Development Council and held in Singapore in August 1976. The papers are concerned with various aspects of household studies in Asia (ANNOTATION)

Family planning attitudes in urban Indonesia: findings from focus group research.

Abstract: Although the Indonesian national family planning program achieved high acceptance and continuation rates in rural areas the urban program was lagging especially in major cities. To investigate the family planning attitudes and behavior of urban residents 20 focus group sessions were conducted in Jakarta among 10 categories of respondents: 3 groups of married women with children and 3 groups of men (current users former users and never users); married women without children; unmarried women; women about to be married; and older women. Groups were conducted at 2 educational levels for each of the 10 categories: those with 6 years or less of education and those educated beyond the 6 year level. Attitudes and feelings on 8 subjects (marriage early childbearing family size the concept of family planning contraceptive decision making awareness of birth control and attitudes toward various specific methods) as well as the general awareness of family planning facilities and information sources about family planning are reported. (authors modified)

Agrarian reform in Kerala and its impact on the rural economy : a preliminary assessment

Abstract: Working paper assessing the impact of land reforms on rural development in Kerala, India - discusses the historical background and the impact on land tenure, agricultural employment, wages, agricultural credit, agricultural production, agricultural incomes, rural area poverty, etc. References and statistical tables.

Sex disparities in the distribution of food within rural households.

Abstract: The findings of a recent nutritional survey in rural Bangladesh suggest that within rural households, food is inequitably divided among household members in relation to their nutritional requirements. Women and girls are disadvantaged in comparison to men and boys. This leads to a higher incidence of severe malnutrition among women and girls and excess female infant mortality. These findings suggest that in order to eradicate malnutrition, it may not be enough to increase the supply of food available to households among the rural poor, unless at the same time steps are taken to ensure a more equitable distribution of food within the household by enhancing the perceived economic value of females in rural society.

Reform in Soviet Politics: The Lessons of Recent Policies on Land and Water

Abstract: This book examines the record of the Brezhnev regime in its only major domestic innovation: the attempt to modernise Soviet agriculture. Under Brezhnev, the Soviets have invested more than half a trillion dollars in the countryside, but the Kremlin has remarkably little to show for the effort. The reason for the poor return, Gustafson argues is that it is fundamentally flawed because it has been conducted along traditional Soviet lines. For all its innovative features the agricultural programme resembles nothing so much as the Stalinist industrialising campaigns of the fifties. The Soviets cannot afford another such 'reform'. Consequently the agricultural programme cannot stand as a model for meeting the complex problems the Soviets will have to deal with in the next twenty years. Gustafson asserts that whatever solution they devise will depend on whether the Soviet political elite can develop resources and instruments of power more appropriate to the needs of a mature industrial economy. But whether such changes are possible rests on fundamental questions about the essence of power in the Soviet regime.

DIFFERENTIAL RATES OF RURAL-URBAN DELINQUENCY: A Social Control Approach

Abstract: Official statistics and numerous sociological studies indicate that rural areas generate lower rates of delinquency than do urban areas. This study attempts to explain these differential rates by drawing on the social control theory of Hirschi. Questionnaires were administered to a rural and an urban juvenile detention center population to investigate both extent of delin-quency involvement and degree of commitment to five institutional orders: family, church, school, peers, and formal authority. As hypothesized, the rural sample reported significantly less delinquent activity than the urban sample. Control theory also received support from the data. A strong inverse relationship was found between commitment and delinquency. When intro-duced as a control variable, commitment specified the original relationship between locality and delinquency. The specified relationships were strongest for rural youth with high commitment and for urban youth with low commitment.

Women, Work and Family in the Soviet Union

Abstract: This work reports on the Vietnam war as seen by the GI in the jungles. It discusses current attitudes, views from Saigon, Hanoi and Phnom Penh, and other locales in the countryside.

Wage Functions and Occupational Selection in a Rural Less Developed Country Setting

Abstract: ECONOMISTS are just beginning to develop empirical knowledge about the basic relationships that determine the distribution of incomes and allocation of resources in the poor rural regions of the world. Understanding interactions between agriculture and the rest of the economy is particularly important in this context. This paper empirically investigates the allocation of human resources between farm work and other jobs and the compensation received by individuals for their work in agriculture and elsewhere. Specifically, two related tasks are undertaken in this paper: (1) the estimation of wage functions; and (2) the estimation of functions determining the allocation of time among occupations. There have been a series of papers which estimate the earnings function using data from poor countries. (For examples, see Blaug (1974); Chiswick (1977); and Valdes (1971).) However, this study focuses not on total earnings but on the wage rates a person may earn in labor market work, because the wage rate is the relevant price of time for many allocative decisions. For example, in dividing the work year between self-employed farming and work as an employee off the farm, a key price is the potential wage rate the person can earn in the labor market. (For discussion and evidence on this issue, see Sumner (1978).) Recently, a few studies have appeared which illustrate the importance of understanding potential wage variations across individuals in less developed countries. Rosenzweig (1978) uses wage estimates from aggregate Indian data in a model determining the impact of land reform. Bardhan (1979) develops wage functions from a sample survey in rural India as a step in estimating labor supply for rural households. Kusnic and DaVanzo (1980) use wage functions to impute potential incomes and to measure the "full income" distribution. These previous studies illustrate the importance of understanding the determinants of market wages. The present paper develops wage functions in more detail, focusing especially on industrial differentials. In many rural areas employment opportunities may be usefully categorized into (1) self-employment (mainly on small farms); (2) work for wages on large farms; and (3) work for wages in non-farm industries. The combination of selfemployment and work as an employee is also important in many rural areas in both rich and poor countries. This paper examines the impact of personal characteristics on the choice to participate in work for wages and on the choice of industry. These estimates also form a basis for studying industrial wage differentials. Tentative estimates of the dependence of participation on expected wages are also presented below. The empirical analysis in this paper is based on a 1974 sample of five villages in central Guatemala (see Corona (1978) and Stein (1978)). One village, Petapa, is larger, richer and more urban than the others. It lies south of Guatemala City within commuting distance of the capital. The other villages are outside the capital city region. The population sampled is almost exclusively ladino (Spanish culture as opposed to Indian). Data are available on the earnings, hours of work, industry, age, schooling, literacy, and village of 1,005 male heads of households. Approximately one-third of the sample work as both self-employed farmers and hired workers, and most of these men work on fincas (large plantations). Another quarter of the sample work as self-employed farmers and do no work for wages. The suburban village has mostly nonagricultural workers, whereas the four other villages have predominantly farmers and farm employees. In Received for publication June 21, 1979. Revision accepted for publication December 31, 1980. * North Carolina State University. Research on this paper began while I was a Rockefeller Foundation supported Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Labor and Population Group of the Economics Department of the Rand Corporation and continued at North Carolina State University supported by the Agricultural Research Service. At Rand, Robert Newman served as my research assistant and at N.C. State, James Cochell provided able assistance. I have benefited from the comments of colleagues at both institutions and from members of the Labor Economics Workshop at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I also thank two anonymous referees for useful suggestions. This is paper number 6558 of the Journal Series of the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, Raleigh, N.C.

The Community Helpers Project: A description of a prevention strategy for rural communities

Abstract: Because of the prevalence of psychosocial distress and the difficulties involved in delivering services to rural areas, prevention programs are especially important for rural communities. The Community Helpers Project was designed as a model prevention program for rural communities since it builds upon informal local helpers. Through a system of community-based training, local helpers' helping skills are enhanced using three training packages—basic helping skills, life development skills, and crisis resolution skills. The assumptions underlying the design of The Community Helpers Project, the components of the intervention, the locale of the effort, and an overview of its implementation are presented.

Telecommunications and travel: Potential impact in rural areas

Abstract: Clark D. and Unwin K. I. (1981) Telecommunications and travel: potential impact in rural areas, Reg. Studies 15, 47–56. This paper examines the implications of telecommunications for non-work travel in rural areas. Contact diary data are used to identify the individual components of daily travel, and the possible effects upon these of developments in telecommunications are discussed. Some substitution of journeys to information and advice agencies is possible, but the increased penetration and use of the telephone is likely to raise the level of visiting for social purposes. An overall increase in the demand for rural travel seems likely. The implications of any stimulus effect for rural transport provision and policy are considered.

Urban development and regional management in Eastern Europe

Abstract: Ancient classical history is the history of cities, but cities based on landownership and agriculture; Asian history is a kind of undifferentiated unity of town and country (the large city, properly speaking, must be regarded merely as a princely camp superimposed on the real economic structure); the Middle Ages (Germanic-feudal-period) starts with the countryside as the locus of history, whose further development then proceeds through the opposition of town and country; modern history is the urbanisation of the countryside, not, as among the ancients, the ruralisation of the city. Karl Marxl