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Master of Arts / Department of Geography / Max Lu / Many rural areas throughout the Great Plains and Midwest have been affected by a “brain drain,” or the outward migration of highly trained or well-educated people. This hurts many facets of rural communities, including local schools, economies, and available services. In response to a negative outlook for rural areas, in 2012 the State of Kansas implemented the Rural Opportunity Zone (ROZ) Program to encourage young, college-educated adults to move to rural counties. The ROZ program provides tax waivers and student loan repayments to those willing to relocate to participating counties. This research looks at what influences young educated adults to participate in the program as well as how the ROZ’s financial benefits potentially outweigh the drawbacks associated with rural life. The research employed a survey of Kansas State University students as well as interviews with local economic development officials who manage the program. Survey results reveal that even though the majority of students have a stated rural preference most do not view themselves as likely to participate in the program. Despite student interest in the program benefits most view the lack of services and employment opportunities in rural Kansas to be too much of a drawback. County officials expressed similar feelings. Interviews revealed that, though the program primarily benefits those though were already intending to live in a rural area, the program rarely attracts newcomers. In addition, the program is poorly funded in many areas and the lack of affordable housing or high paying jobs limits population growth in a way that the benefits of the ROZ cannot outweigh. Findings from this research will allow communities to make changes that build upon their attributes as well as limit their undesirable characteristics. This research also highlights the need for changes to be made by the State of Kansas concerning the program’s benefits and awareness.

Thesis (M.P.A.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 2009. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 47-05, page: 2639. Adviser: Paula A. Holoviak. Includes supplementary digital materials.

This research provides information about Economic Development Zones (EDZ) to help the reader understand these programs. For a business owner they are able to make informed decisions about the merits of these programs and decide whether it makes sense for them to relocate their businesses to Florida’s Economic Development Zones. What most readers do not know is that these programs and the operating condition of an Economic Development Zone can offer benefits to a business owner, allowing them to reduce their operating expenses and the cost of doing business. Over the past several years, the researcher discussed foreign trade opportunities with different individuals. One of these conversations was with the sale director of a company located at Sebring Airfield and Intermodal Facility in Sebring, Florida. In this discussion, the benefits of locating a business in an Economic Development Zone, within an economically depressed rural area of Florida, was introduced. This conversation led to researching what it takes to relocate or operate a business in Economic Development Zones located in rural areas. The basic purpose in creating an EDZ through local, state, and federal government agencies is to reduce unemployment in depressed areas of the United States. This goal is accomplished by incentivizing businesses to create jobs and make capital investments in those areas. Different levels of government offer incentives to companies for relocating or expanding their businesses by creating Economic Zones. The incentives for relocating, expanding, or starting a business in an EDZ can be very lucrative. Businesses look for every opportunity to reduce their operating expenses by reducing the cost of doing business. Through incentives and tax breaks, a business could reduce its yearly operating costs making them more competitive. The goal of companies is to reduce their overhead and the government goal is to create jobs which should be mutually supportive, yet it is not the case. This lack of awareness is a major contributing factor for why these programs are not successful. From prior research conducted during a literature review, there is very little information about these programs beyond government webpages. With the rapid turnover of programs due to the political election cycle, there is little current information on the most recent EDZ except what is offered at the Federal level. One of the challenges in starting operations in an EDZ is the identification of the different stakeholders for federal, state and local programs. The lines of communication and the delineation of responsibilities between the federal government, state, and local development councils can be very confusing. In order to navigate between the different programs a business owner needs to understand how support flows down to the local agencies. An interest trend from this research, is a clear lack of awareness about these programs. Most business leaders are not aware of their local economic development office and only a few businesses had received any benefits from this organization. There is a need for better awareness about these opportunities. After reading these articles, a business leader is able to make informed decisions about the merits of these programs and decide whether it makes sense for them to relocate or expand their businesses to Florida’s Economic Development Zones.