Archive
New From the GAO
New GAO Reports
Source: Government Accountability Office
+ Reports
1. Rural Housing Service: Efforts to Identify and Reduce Improper Rental Assistance Payments Could Be Enhanced. GAO-12-624, May 31.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-624
Highlights – http://www.gao.gov/assets/600/591250.pdf
2. Nonpoint Source Water Pollution: Greater Oversight and Additional Data Needed for Key EPA Water Program. GAO-12-335, May 31.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-335
Highlights – http://www.gao.gov/assets/600/591304.pdf
+ Related Product
Nonpoint Source Water Pollution: Greater Oversight and Additional Data Needed for Key EPA Water Program, Survey of Section 319 Project Managers (GAO-12-377SP, May 2012), an E-Supplement to GAO-12-335. GAO-12-377SP, May 31.
www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-377sp
Scaling up in agriculture, rural development, and nutrition
Scaling up in agriculture, rural development, and nutrition
Source: International Food Policy Research Institute
Taking successful development interventions to scale is critical if the world is to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and make essential gains in the fight for improved agricultural productivity, rural incomes, and nutrition. How to support scaling up in these three areas, however, is a major challenge. This collection of policy briefs is designed to contribute to a better understanding of the experience to date and the lessons for the future.
Scaling up means expanding, replicating, adapting, and sustaining successful policies, programs, or projects to reach a greater number of people; it is part of a broader process of innovation and learning. A new idea, model, or approach is typically embodied in a pilot project of limited impact; with monitoring and evaluation, the knowledge acquired from the pilot experience can be used to scale up the model to create larger impacts. The process generally occurs in an iterative and interactive cycle, as the experience from scaling up feeds back into new ideas and learning.
The authors of the 20 policy briefs included here explore the experience of scaling up successful interventions in agriculture, rural development, and nutrition under five broad headings: (1) the role of rural community engagement, (2) the importance of value chains, (3) the intricacies of scaling up nutrition interventions, (4) the lessons learned from institutional approaches, and (5) the experience of international aid donors.
Planning in America: Perceptions and Priorities
Planning in America: Perceptions and Priorities
Source: American Planning Association
With the U.S. economy struggling, Americans believe community planners should play a major role in helping the nation get back on its feet, according to a national poll released by APA on June 14, 2012.
Two-thirds of Americans believe their community needs more planning to promote economic recovery.
The poll found that Americans want planners to focus most on creating jobs — followed by safety, schools, protecting neighborhoods, and water quality.
"Not only do Americans strongly believe community planning is critical to jump starting our nation’s economy," said APA Chief Executive Officer Paul Farmer, FAICP, "but a majority want to be personally involved with community planning efforts, whether they live in a city, a suburb, a small town, or rural America."
Understanding Child Abuse in Rural and Urban America: Risk Factors and Maltreatment Substantiation
Understanding Child Abuse in Rural and Urban America: Risk Factors and Maltreatment Substantiation (PDF)
Source: Carsey Institute
Key Findings
- Approximately one-fourth of all cases investigated by CPS are substantiated.
- Across America, 25 percent of supervisory neglect cases, 24 percent of sexual abuse cases, and 22 percent of physical neglect are substantiated.
- Caregivers’ risk factors, including drug and alcohol abuse, mental health problems, and a recent arrest, increase the likelihood that a child maltreatment report is substantiated. Nearly one-half of caregivers with three or more risk factors have a substantiated report compared with an estimated 22 percent with only one or two risks,
and 11 percent of caregivers with no risk factors.- Important differences emerge between rural and urban America:
- Higher-income children (that is, in families with incomes greater than 200 percent of the federal poverty level) in rural areas are significantly more likely to have a report substantiated than they are in urban places.
- Older children in rural places are more likely to have a report substantiated (35 percent) than those in urban areas (23 percent).
- Children in rural areas whose caregivers are either experiencing active domestic violence or have cognitive impairments are more likely to have a case substantiated than similar urban children.
Urban America: US cities in the global economy
Urban America: US cities in the global economy
Source: McKinsey Global Institute
In a world of rising urbanization, the degree of economic vigor that the economy of the United States derives from its cities is unmatched by any other region of the globe. Large US cities, defined here as those with 150,000 or more inhabitants, generated almost 85 percent of the country’s GDP in 2010, compared with 78 percent for large cities in China and just under 65 percent for those in Western Europe during the same period. In the next 15 years, the 259 large US cities are expected to generate more than 10 percent of global GDP growth—a share bigger than that of all such cities in other developed countries combined.
The overwhelming role that cities play as home to the vast majority of Americans but also as a dominant driver of US and global economic growth argues for a keen focus on their prospects. MGI sheds new light on the role cities play in the US economy and gauges how large they loom in the urban world overall.
+ Executive Summary (PDF)
+ Full Report (PDF)
Workforce Skills across the Urban-Rural Hierarchy
This paper examines differences in the skill content of work throughout the United States, ranging from densely populated city centers to isolated and sparsely populated rural areas. To do so, we classify detailed geographic areas into categories along the entire urban-rural hierarchy. An occupation-based cluster analysis is then used to measure the types of skills available in the regional workforce, which allows for a broader measure of human capital than is captured by conventional measures. We fi nd that the occupation clusters most prevalent in urban areas—scientists, engineers, and executives—are characterized by high levels of social and resource-management skills, as well as the ability to generate ideas and solve complex problems. By contrast, the occupation clusters that are most prevalent in rural areas—machinists, makers, and laborers—are among the lowest in terms of required skills. These differences in the skill content of work shed light on the pattern of earnings observed across the urban-rural hierarchy.
21st Century Post Office: Aligning with the National Broadband Infrastructure Initiative Management Advisory
Based on our analysis of the technical, engineering, and business planning issues involved, we concluded that for-profit Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have provided thorough broadband coverage in the areas of the U.S. that would garner economic profit. However, there are unserved areas within the U.S. — mostly in rural areas — due, in large part, to the negative financial return involved when entering those markets.The private sector cannot change this broadband coverage gap alone. The Postal Service can assist the National Broadband Infrastructure Initiative through a public/private partnership with commercial ISPs to provide facilities and land for the expansion of the broadband infrastructure. A public/private venture could make ISP operations more affordable for the underserved.
The Impact of Density and Diversity on Reapportionment and Redistricting in the Mountain West
During the first decade of the 21st century the six states of the Mountain West — Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah — experienced unprecedented political and demographic changes. Population growth in all six states exceeded the national average and the region is home to the four states that underwent the largest population gains between 2000 and 2010. As a consequence, the region is now home to some of the most demographically diverse and geographically concentrated states in the country— factors that helped to transform the Mountain West from a Republican stronghold into America’s new swing region. This paper examines the impact that increased diversity and density are exerting on reapportionment and redistricting in each Mountain West state and assesses the implications that redistricting outcomes will exert both nationally and within each state in the coming decade. Nationally, the region’s clout will increase due to the addition of three seats in the House of Representatives (one each in Arizona, Nevada, and Utah) and electoral contexts in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico that will result in competitive presidential and senate elections throughout the decade. At the state level, the combination of term limits, demographic change, and the reapportionment of state legislative seats from rural to urban areas will alter the composition of these states’ legislatures and should facilitate the realignment of policy outcomes that traditionally benefitted rural interests at the expense of urban needs.
+ Full Paper (PDF)
Urban U.S. counties hot spots of terror, but rural areas are not exempt
Urban U.S. counties hot spots of terror, but rural areas are not exempt
Source: National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (University of Maryland)
Nearly a third of all terrorist attacks from 1970 to 2008 occurred in just five metropolitan U.S. counties, but events continue to occur in rural areas, spurred on by domestic actors, according to a report published today by researchers in the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), a Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Center of Excellence based at the University of Maryland. The research was conducted at Maryland and the University of Massachusetts-Boston.
The largest number of events clustered around major cities — in Manhattan (343 attacks), followed by Los Angeles County, Calif. (156 attacks), Miami-Dade County, Fla. (103 attacks), San Francisco County, Calif. (99 attacks) and Washington, D.C. (79 attacks).
While large, urban counties such as Manhattan and Los Angeles have remained hot spots of terrorist activities across decades, the START researchers discovered that smaller, more rural counties such as Maricopa County, Ariz. – which includes Phoenix – have emerged as hot spots in recent years as domestic terrorism there has increased.
The START researchers defined a “hot spot” as a county experiencing a greater than the average number of terrorist attacks – more than six attacks across the entire time period of 1970 to 2008.Sixty-five of 3,143 U.S. counties as hot spots.
“Mainly, terror attacks have been a problem in the bigger cities, but rural areas are not exempt,” said Gary LaFree, director of START and lead author of the new report. “The main attacks driving Maricopa into recent hot spot status are the actions of radical environmental groups, especially the Coalition to Save the Preserves. So, despite the clustering of attacks in certain regions, it is also clear that hot spots are dispersed throughout the country and include places as geographically diverse as counties in Arizona, Massachusetts, Nebraska and Texas.”
+ Full Report (PDF)
NCHS Urban–Rural Classification Scheme for Counties
NCHS Urban–Rural Classification Scheme for Counties (PDF)
Source: National Center for Education Statistics
Objectives
This report details the National Center for Health Statistics’ (NCHS) development of the 2006 NCHS Urban–Rural Classification Scheme for Counties and provides some examples of how the scheme can be used to describe differences in health measures by urbanization level.Methods
The 2006 NCHS urban-rural classification scheme classifies all U.S. counties and county-equivalents into six levels—four for metropolitan counties and two for nonmetropolitan counties. The Office of Management and Budget’s delineation of metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties forms the foundation of the scheme. The NCHS scheme also uses the cut points of the U.S. Department of Agriculture RuralUrban Continuum Codes to subdivide the metropolitan counties based on the population of their metropolitan statistical area (MSA): large, for MSA population of 1 million or more; medium, for MSA population of 250,000–999,999; and small, for MSA population below 250,000. Large metro counties were further separated into large central and large fringe metro categories using classification rules developed by NCHS. Nonmetropolitan counties were assigned to two levels based on the Office of Management and Budget’s designated micropolitan or noncore status. The 2006 scheme was applied to data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) and the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to illustrate its ability to capture health differences by urbanization level.Results and Conclusions
Application of the 2006 NCHS scheme to NVSS and NHIS data shows that it identifies important health disparities among communities, most notably those for inner city and suburban communities. The design of the NCHS Urban–Rural Classification Scheme for Counties makes it particularly well-suited for assessing and monitoring health differences across the full urbanization continuum.
Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) Highlights: Occupational Employment and Wage Patterns in Nonmetropolitan Areas
Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) Highlights: Occupational Employment and Wage Patterns in Nonmetropolitan Areas
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Wages in nonmetropolitan areas tend to be lower than the national average. In fact, mean wages in all except eight nonmetropolitan areas are below the U.S. hourly mean of $21.35. Wages may be lower in most nonmetropolitan areas because workers in metropolitan areas have higher wages for the same occupations, because employment in nonmetropolitan areas tends to be in lower paying occupations, or through a combination of both factors.
The New Metro Minority Map: Regional Shifts in Hispanics, Asians, and Blacks from Census 2010
The New Metro Minority Map: Regional Shifts in Hispanics, Asians, and Blacks from Census 2010
Source: Brookings Institution
This paper shows how the rapid growth of Hispanic and Asian origin groups and new internal shifts of African Americans are transforming the racial and ethnic demographic profiles of America’s largest metropolitan areas ahead of other parts of the country.
+ Full Paper (PDF)
More Poor Kids in More Poor Places: Children Increasingly Live Where Poverty Persists
More Poor Kids in More Poor Places: Children Increasingly Live Where Poverty Persists
Source: Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire
The authors of this brief examine child poverty rates using decennial census data from 1980, 1990, and 2000, as well as American Community Survey five-year estimates between 2005 and 2009, to identify those counties where child poverty has persisted. They find persistent child poverty in nearly twice as many U.S. counties as those that report high persistent poverty across all age groups. In all, 342 counties have experienced persistently high levels of poverty across all age groups during the past twenty-nine years. In contrast, more than 700 counties experienced persistent child poverty over the same period. Rural areas are disproportionately likely to have persistent high child poverty; 81 percent of counties with persistent child poverty are nonmetropolitan while only 65 percent of all U.S. counties are nonmetropolitan. Overall, 26 percent of rural children reside in counties whose poverty rates have been persistently high. This compares with 12 percent of urban children. Counties with persistent child poverty cluster in Appalachia, the Mississippi Delta, other areas of the Southeast, parts of the Southwest, and in the Great Plains. The authors comment that the overwhelming urban focus of welfare programs means policymakers often overlook needy families in rural areas. In addition to the high unemployment and low education levels that they document in the brief, the physical and social isolation associated with rural poverty create problems different from those in densely settled urban areas. They conclude that the reductions in government spending likely to result from the Great Recession, coupled with two decades of the devolution of policymaking responsibility from the federal to the state level (and occasionally to municipal governments), may have significant implications for children and fragile families in these persistently poor rural counties.
+ Full Report (PDF)
Impacts of Higher Energy Prices on Agriculture and Rural Economies
Impacts of Higher Energy Prices on Agriculture and Rural Economies
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Agricultural production is sensitive to changes in energy prices, either through energy consumed directly or through energy-related inputs such as fertilizer. A number of factors can affect energy prices faced by U.S. farmers and ranchers, including developments in the oil and natural gas markets, and energy taxes or subsidies. Climate change policies could also affect energy prices as a result of taxes on emissions, regulated emission limits, or the institution of a market for emission reduction credits. Here we review the importance of energy in the agricultural sector and report the results of a case study on the economic implications for the farm sector of energy price increases that would arise from plausible, constructed greenhouse-gas-emission reduction scenarios. Higher energy-related production costs would generally lower agricultural output, raise prices of agricultural products, and reduce farm income, regardless of the reason for the energy price increase. Nonetheless, farm sector impacts were modest for the scenarios and time periods examined. We demonstrate the unique distribution of effects resulting from price (or cost) increases for different types of energy due to pricing their carbon content, as well as the relative use of energy in production of different agricultural commodities.
+ Summary (PDF)
+ Full Report (PDF)
New Report Details Deteriorating State of Nation’s Rural Roads and Bridges, Rural Fatality Rate Three Times Above Average
New Report Details Deteriorating State of Nation’s Rural Roads and Bridges, Rural Fatality Rate Three Times Above Average
Source: Associated General Contractors of America
The nation’s rural roads and bridges are rapidly deteriorating, causing the fatality rate along back roads to triple the national average for highway fatalities, according to a new report on rural road conditions released today. The report’s findings prompted members of the business, construction and transportation communities to call for passage of long-delayed federal legislation to fund road repairs and bridge maintenance.
“Employers understand all too well that when rural roads crumble, bridges deteriorate and safety declines, virtually every aspect of the American economy suffers,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America. “The best way to boost our economy, support private sector growth and cut unemployment is to pass a new surface transportation bill.”
The report, “Rural Connections: Challenges and Opportunities in America’s Heartland,” found that the highway fatality rate on the nation’s rural roads was 2.31 deaths for every 100 million vehicle miles of travel, three times the fatality rate on all other roads. The report also found that 55 percent of the nation’s rural roads were rated poor, mediocre or just fair. And 23 percent of rural bridges were either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.
The report, which was prepared by TRIP, a national transportation research group, ranked states based on their rural fatality rates, rural road conditions and the state of their rural bridges. It found that South Carolina and Florida had the highest rural road fatality rates. Vermont and Idaho have the highest percentage of rural roads in poor condition. Pennsylvania and Rhode Island lead the nation in the percentage of deficient rural bridges.
+ Full Report (PDF)
+ State-by-State Rankings (PDF)
SCORE and Partners Release Rural Education Roadmap
SCORE and Partners Release Rural Education Roadmap
Source: State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE)
The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) today released a report outlining specific recommendations to improve public education in rural communities in the South. The recommendations in Transforming the Rural South: A Roadmap to Improving Rural Education are based on research, best practices, and voices from rural communities across Tennessee and throughout the Southeast. The report, released jointly with the Ayers Foundation, Niswonger Foundation, Rural School and Community Trust, and the Tennessee School Boards Association, follows the Southeast Regional Rural Education Summit, which was held in Nashville on July 19-20, 2011.
“In Tennessee and across the South, the success and economic vibrancy of our rural communities are critically tied to quality public education,” SCORE President and CEO Jamie Woodson said. “The priorities and action items detailed in this report serve to highlight not only what must happen inside the classroom and the school house, but also what needs to happen in the community to improve rural education.”
The report outlines six priorities, with action items for each priority. The priorities include:
- Highlighting the connection between education and economic development
- Offering schools and districts more flexibility
- Forming a pipeline of effective teachers
- Using technology to meet instructional needs
- Creating professional learning communities for administrators
- Forming partnerships to enhance educational opportunities
+ Full Document (PDF)
Impacts of Higher Energy Prices on Agriculture and Rural Economies
Impacts of Higher Energy Prices on Agriculture and Rural Economies
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Agricultural production is sensitive to changes in energy prices, either through energy consumed directly or through energy-related inputs such as fertilizer. A number of factors can affect energy prices faced by U.S. farmers and ranchers, including developments in the oil and natural gas markets, and energy taxes or subsidies. Climate change policies could also affect energy prices as a result of taxes on emissions, regulated emission limits, or the institution of a market for emission reduction credits. Here we review the importance of energy in the agricultural sector and report the results of a case study on the economic implications for the farm sector of energy price increases that would arise from plausible, constructed greenhouse-gas-emission reduction scenarios. Higher energy-related production costs would generally lower agricultural output, raise prices of agricultural products, and reduce farm income, regardless of the reason for the energy price increase. Nonetheless, farm sector impacts were modest for the scenarios and time periods examined. We demonstrate the unique distribution of effects resulting from price (or cost) increases for different types of energy due to pricing their carbon content, as well as the relative use of energy in production of different agricultural commodities.
+ Summary (PDF)
+ Full Report (PDF)
White House Rural Council Delivers Report on Rural America – Jobs and Economic Security for Rural America
White House Rural Council Delivers Report on Rural America – Jobs and Economic Security for Rural America
Source: White House
Today, the White House Rural Council released a new report entitled Jobs and Economic Security for Rural America, which lays out the economic landscape rural Americans face today and highlights the Administration’s key accomplishments in rural communities. The Jobs and Economic Security for Rural America report focuses on five critical areas: creating jobs and promoting economic growth, improving access to quality health care and education, fostering innovation, expanding outdoor opportunities, and supporting veterans and military families.
“This report on “Jobs and Economic Security in Rural America” underscores the commitment my Administration is making to rural communities,” said President Obama. “It highlights some of the many programs and policies my Administration has implemented in rural America to support economic growth. It also offers a look at the economic agenda we will continue to pursue during my Presidency.”
“This report highlights the importance of understanding some of the specific needs as well as unique opportunities found within rural America,” Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack said. “It also presents vital strategies that can and will be used to seize those opportunities and tackle some of the toughest challenges facing our rural communities.”
On June 9, President Obama signed an Executive Order establishing the first White House Rural Council to accelerate the ongoing work of promoting economic growth in rural America. The Council is focused on increasing rural access to capital, spurring agricultural innovation, expanding digital and physical infrastructure in rural areas, and creating economic opportunities through conservation and outdoor recreation.
+ Full Report (PDF)
U.S. Forest Service Visitor’s Report Shows Strong Continued Economic Impact and Customer Satisfaction of America’s National Forests and Grasslands
U.S. Forest Service Visitor’s Report Shows Strong Continued Economic Impact and Customer Satisfaction of America’s National Forests and Grasslands
Source: U.S. Forest Service
Recreational activities on national forests and grasslands continue to make large economic impacts on America’s rural communities, contributing $14.5 billion annually to the U.S. economy.
According to the National Visitor Use Monitoring report released today by Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell, national forests attracted 170.8 million recreational visitors and sustained approximately 223,000 jobs in rural communities this past year.
…
National forests also provide economic relief for vacationers. Fewer than half of the U.S. Forest Service’s 17,000 developed sites charge any fees for visitors. The report reveals that 94 percent of visitors were satisfied with their experience on the national forests.
Modernizing Rural Health Care: Coverage, quality and innovation
Modernizing Rural Health Care: Coverage, quality and innovation (PDF)
Source: UnitedHealth Center for Health Reform & Modernization
Why produce a paper on rural health care? First, because it’s a topic that affects many millions of people. Indeed, if rural America were its own country, its population would be larger than nearly 90 percent of the world’s nations. And second, because although rural communities face many of the same challenges as the rest of America, they also face some unique ones — particularly when it comes to health and health care.
This working paper sets out to examine the distinctive health needs of rural populations, and how well the health care system is currently able to respond. It presents new data on rural care quality; on the views of people living in rural areas; and what their physicians see as the major challenges to overcome. Solutions to these challenges will need to embrace a wide spectrum of practical and complementary approaches, recognizing the heterogeneity of rural communities. For that reason, this working paper also draws on the ‘real world’ experience of innovative rural care systems and of UnitedHealth Group, in fields as varied as rural provider payment reform, rural telemedicine, the provision of mobile clinics, and support for the critical role played by nurses in rural communities.
