Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1981. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 334-359).

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Development Studies in the Department of Anthropology and Development Studies at the University of Zululand, 2019. / The South African government’s target was to ensure a significant growth in rural economies through appropriate prioritisation of the agricultural sector. This study analyses the sustainability of agricultural projects in enhancing rural economic development in Msinga Local Municipality. This study employed mixed methods approach with a convergent parallel design to analyse the sustainability of agricultural projects toward enhancing rural economic development. The participants of this study consisted of households (n=180), key informants (n=6) and focus groups (n=5). Data were collected through the use of document analysis, questionnaires, focus group discussion and semi-structured interviews. Content analysis and SPSS with descriptive statistics and cross tabulation were used to analyse and categorise the data in order to obtain the objectives of the study. The study found that there is high level of community participation in subsistence agricultural sector within the study area. However, subsistence agriculture has shown to be unsustainable due to low productivity caused by adverse climate change conditions. Some aspects of the results specified that MLM is mostly dominated by subsistence farming. Subsistence farming is facing challenges that puts its sustainability in jeopardy. While on the one hand subsistence farming sector does not allow farmers to sell their produce to the market. On the other hand, it usually serves as a source of ensuring food availability at a household level. The issue of climate change have a negative impact on the productivity of agricultural projects due to the inadequate rainfall and water scarcity for irrigation. The deficiency in infrastructural services has turned to be a constraint to small scale farmers in their quest to access the market. There is poor availability of transport facilities and market place where farmers can sell their produce. The results also showed that lack of skills, knowledge and information amongst farmers is a problem that destructively impacts on the ability of agriculture to contribute in improving rural economic development. It is recommended that the Department of Agriculture provides adequate training to assist rural small scale farmers in order to maintain the sustainability of agricultural projects. The study also recommends that both local municipality and Department of vii Agriculture should motivate subsistence farmers to engage in agricultural activities as corporations, so that these farmers cannot struggle in scouting financial resources. Lastly, further research should analyse challenges that constrain the transformation of rural subsistence farming sector to reach the level of small scale farming sector.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters in Community Work in the Department of Social Work at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2014 / Rural economic development is a priority for every government in the world, whether the country is developed, developing or Third World. In South Africa, 45.8% of the population lives in rural areas and are regarded as lower social class. Here unemployment is high and the educational level is low. As a result people rely heavily on government grants for their household income. Many factors contribute to this dependency, mostly the legacy of apartheid policies. The effect of the apartheid ideology tended to put economic development beyond the reach of black people through stripping them of resources and blocking advancement in their knowledge and capacities. Hence, the developmental efforts in the new democratic era has a focus on economic empowerment of women and people with disabilities, improvement of health standards in rural areas, bettering education using agriculture as the tool to achieve the proposed development. Many policies that are based on agriculture have been implemented to better people’s situation in South Africa. They include Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), Growth, Employment and Redistribution Strategy (GEAR), Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP), Integrated Development Plans (IDP) and Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy (ISRDS), to mention but a few. The study aimed at assessing the impacts of government agricultural projects in rural economic development while identifying proper strategies for effective agricultural project implementation in the rural areas. The results revealed that there has been creation of additional employment opportunities in agriculture which have also contributed to improvement of household food security, infrastructural development, informal and formal education. Measures promoting smallholder agricultural growth can be an effective strategy to reduce rural poverty, income inequality and can contribute significantly to poverty alleviation by raising rural incomes through agricultural productivity. Investing in agricultural development benefits the communities through better roads, storage, transport and other marketing infrastructures which generate farm and non-farm employment thus benefiting not only the project participants but also the community as a whole. However, the study concludes that local regional agricultural policies are needed for land access and use by women and youth especially, in order to enhance land market development and agriculture investment. These policies should include bettering financial credits available for project participants through simplifying the application processes and low interest payments.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2011. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-132). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Master of Science / Department of Agricultural Economics / Hikaru Hanawa Peterson / The purpose of this study was to examine the economic contribution of rural grocery stores to the communities they serve. In addition, this study looked at the community characteristics that influence the level of economic contribution of a rural grocery store. The analysis was conducted for 163 Kansas rural grocery stores that were selected from cities with populations of fewer than 2,500 people. Regarding the first objective, household income changes and loss of business activity associated with each grocery store were estimated using the IMPLAN economic modeling system. To do so, changes in employment at each grocery store and household income in the community were measured assuming the loss of income that affected households in a city would face if they had to travel a greater distance to buy groceries. The economic contribution of rural grocery stores in Kansas averaged $644,413, ranging from $38,441 and $3,921,027. The results showed that population and location within the state had direct effects on the economic impact of a grocery store. With more complex economies in the eastern and south central parts of Kansas, these stores had a greater economic contribution than stores in the Southwest and Northwest. Communities in the western parts of Kansas would be the worst off from losing their grocery store because of increased travel costs they would incur by traveling the next alternative store. For the second objective, city and county characteristics that were thought to influence the level of the economic contribution of a store were tested. Two regression models were considered specifying the natural log of the economic contribution of the grocery store and the percentage of total value added the grocery store contributed to the county economy as the respective dependent variables. It was observed that population was one of the biggest drivers of the economic contribution of a grocery store. Other variables that were statistically significant in both models were the number of city households that had children, relative remoteness of the county, the number of convenience stores per 1,000 people, and the county wealth. In conclusion, this study showed that grocery stores have a significant impact on the communities that they serve. Both employment and travel costs had direct implications on the economic impact of a store. Additionally, demographic factors and other community characteristics influenced the level of impact that these grocery stores can have on their communities.

This study proposes a framework and a process promoting creation of sustainable jobs and businesses in rural, arid and semi-arid agricultural conflict zones of Sub Saharan Africa, focusing on Somalia's societal stabilization and conflict mitigation. This task requires developing risk-reducing measures for infrastructure and service delivery in rural, post-conflict zones. Literature reviews identified two economic growth theories rooted in sustainability concepts for localized, pro-poor development. Ecological Economics Theory (EET) and Endogenous Growth Theory (EGT) are the philosophical bases establishing investment priorities. Additional research regarding Somali culture, key conflict factors, and potential business opportunities, provides an understanding of salient facts in Somalia's on-going, 27-years of war and potential culturally acceptable development pathways. Informal sources, Somali and non-Somali, were consulted to further identify and verify potential avenues for economic growth, sustainability, educational opportunities, allowing Somalia to emerge from the strife it has endured. Visits to Somalia and Somaliland confirmed that livestock, its products and related requirements, are key components for economic growth and job creation. Investigation, via pilot testing and case studies, was undertaken of technologies with potential to improve productive capacity and disrupt existing value chains. Initial framework elements were evaluated for job and business creation, through unstructured, semi-structured interviews, and questionnaire of Somali officials, and Somali and non-Somali conflict zone development practitioners. The pilot test used a small sample size and is a limitation of this work. Findings from the literature review, informal discussions, and the pilot test are synthesized into the framework presented in Chapter 5. The framework proposes development of an innovative, disruptive, and scalable business model that facilitates the simultaneous implementation of renewable energy production. It targets education for the livestock and agroforestry industry of Somalia, improving job and business opportunities. The model proposes modification of used shipping containers for the creation of modular elements, to satisfying infrastructural building components to initiate skills practice, job, and business growth. / Doctor of Philosophy / The wars and conflicts of various types in Africa have made the continent poorer and prevented development in many countries. One of the major, and seemingly intractable conflict locations, is Somalia located in the East Horn of Africa (EHA). This research provides an understanding of salient facts in Somalia's 27 years of war by examining culture and key conflict factors. The objective of this assessment is to identify potential culturally acceptable pathways that will lead to business opportunities and development as a means of conflict mitigation. The improvement of job opportunities for youth is viewed as a means to offset the current participation in the ongoing conflict. Somali and non-Somali sources were consulted to identify and verify avenues for economic growth, sustainability, and educational opportunities. Visits to Somalia and Somaliland confirmed that livestock, and related products, are key components for development and job creation. Technologies with potential to improve productive capacity and disrupt existing value chains were also evaluated. Findings from informal discussions and a pilot test of a proposed framework are presented. The framework identifies elements for development of an innovative, disruptive, and scalable business model that facilitates the implementation of renewable energy production. In addition, it targets education for the livestock and agroforestry industries, improving job and business opportunities.

No description available.

No description available.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / John W. Keller / During the Industrial Revolution, economist Alfred Marshall published his classic book entitled Principles of Economics, in which he suggests that the external economies of scale (positive externalities) produced by the clustering of many small innovative businesses could rival the internal economies of scale achieved by a few large vertically-integrated businesses. The distinction between these two models of industrial organization, one based on many small innovative firms and the other based on a few large conglomerated firms, is the basis of cluster development theory. This distinction has been further developed in the economic development literature through the significant contributions of Schumpeter (creative destruction), Jacobs (necessary inefficiency), and Porter (diamond model). Modern cluster development theory expands upon the work of these classic theorists. Contributions relevant to this study include Markusen’s cluster typologies, Press and Feldman’s cluster lifecycle phases, Munnich’s rural knowledge cluster framework, and Doloreux’s case study of a rural innovation system. This case study applies the lessons of cluster development theory to an emerging cluster of businesses in Wamego, Kansas that share the common Wizard of Oz theme. While this cluster is not a “traditional” cluster (it does not benefit from positive externalities relating to product or process), it does create positive marketing externalities that significantly affect the local economy. This report names the cluster (Oz Cluster), identifies the typological structure of the cluster (hub and spoke), profiles the key actors and decisions which are shaping this emerging cluster, and concludes with lessons learned from the Oz Cluster and alternative scenarios for further cluster development. The Oz Cluster model of economic development demonstrates how communities can profit from niche-based tourism. Such economic development must focus on the establishment and growth of regionally competitive businesses with strategic competitive advantages. Alternative scenarios for further cluster development include: 1) expand the Oz theme; 2) diversify the cluster; and 3) maintain current level of success.

The objective of this dissertation is to analyze the economic impact of newly operational ethanol biorefineries on rural counties in the U.S. Midwest region for the period 2001 to 2015 using a quasi-experimental approach. Rapid growth in the ethanol industry expanded the number of ethanol plants located in the U.S. Midwest from 54 in 2001 to 173 in 2015. Out of the counties with 119 new ethanol biorefineries, 97 counties met the general treatment criteria defined in this dissertation, but only 56 of those counties qualified for the rural treatment criteria. Counties with ethanol biorefineries that qualified for treatment were organized into a treated group based on county level data. Six counterfactual control groups (or control counties without ethanol biorefineries) were contemporaneously matched to the treated counties based on the Mahalanobis distance metric evaluated on a set of 29 selection variables. Matching occurred on two levels. In the first level, matching was performed both for the in-state level and over the entire Midwest region. In the second level, three criteria were used to select the final control groups: Mahalanobis distance metric best match, population best match, and rural-urban continuum codes (RUCC) best match. Economic impact is evaluated based on the growth rate in real per capita earnings for the treated group over a period from one to five years after treatment relative to the control group. A difference-in-differences (DID) model is used to assess the significance of results where the dependent variable is the natural log of real per capita earnings and a set of control variables is used to capture state fixed effects, time fixed effects and spillover effects. Empirical results evaluated against a representative Midwest control group and over six regression models adjusting for various fixed effects produced, on average, one-sided significant results for average treatment on the treated (ATOT) with a (min, max) range of growth rates as (5.53%-7.63%), (10.0%-12.0%), (14.7%-19.6%), (14.5%-18.3%), and (13.3%-18.9%) from one to five years after treatment, respectively. The minimum value of these estimates can be represented as an uncorrected average annual growth rate as 2.75%, 3.33%, 3.68%, 2.90%, and 2.22% over the respective period from one to five years after treatment. Employment levels for the treated group increased on average by 211 at the county level five years after treatment. A comparative Midwest control group lost, on average, 169 jobs over the five year period after treatment. A treated county employment multiplier calculated using the direct, indirect and induced employment impacts varied from 1.46 during the year of treatment to 7.6 five years after treatment relative to the control group. Five years after treatment, the treated group employment rate gradually increased, on average, by 2.2% which was better than either of the two counterfactual control groups used in this comparison. Overall, the analysis presented in this dissertation does show statistically significant positive economic impacts, on average, for rural U.S. Midwest counties with newly operational ethanol biorefineries relative to control counties without an ethanol biorefinery. These results demonstrate that the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) contributed to positive rural economic development impacts in treated counties with the possibility of spillover effects positively affecting contiguous counties.