Rural communities often look outside of their boundaries for the solution — a new employer or new residents — to their economic doldrums, say the editors of “Investing in Rural Prosperity,” published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. “We believe rural communities are more likely to achieve these and other common community and economic development goals if … they build from the inside on the assets they already have,” write Daniel Davis and Andrew Dumont.
“We call this type of approach the ‘TRIC’ to fostering shared economic prosperity in rural communities,” say Davis, of the St. Louis Fed and Dumont, from the board of governors of the Federal Reserve. TRIC is the abbreviation of the four elements of their approach: tailored to a community’s goals and assets, resilient to changing circumstances, inclusive in decision-making and collaborative in development and implementation.
Running 600 pages, “Investing in Rural Prosperity” has contributions from 79 authors on topics from expanding broadband access to workforce development and ethical rural development.
“Rural areas face a unique set of challenges but their contributions to our nation’s economy also are important,” said chief executive James Bullard of the St. Louis Fed and Michelle Bowman, a Federal Reserve governor in the book’s foreword. One of seven Americans lives outside urban areas and the bulk of U.S. food and fuel come from rural areas.