rural poverty
Income inequality is the major cause of higher rural child poverty
The child-poverty rate in rural America was 26.7 percent in 2012, the highest rate in more than four decades, according to Census Bureau data. An analysis by the USDA's Economic Research Service says income inequality was the primary reason for the increase, far outweighing the effect of the overall decline in rural family income due to the recession of 2007-09.
Worldwide migration to cities shaping the future of agriculture
As the global population zooms toward an estimated 9.7 billion people at mid-century, a 34-percent increase in 35 years, more and more of them will live in cities. "By 2050, 66 percent of the world's people are expected to live in cities, fueling unprecedented demand for food," says a report by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
‘Rural America at a Glance’ — still recovering from recession
More people are finding work but job totals in rural America remain below pre-recession levels, says the USDA in "Rural America at a Glance," an annual digest of the rural economy.
Rural residents “left behind” in cancer screening
"Poor, minority and rural residents are left behind" in cancer screenings, says USA Today, "and experts say there's no excuse." The newspaper said it worked with the American Association of Central Cancer Registries to see where deaths from cancer exceed the rates expected for how often it strikes. "States faring worst include Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama, causing untold suffering and pushing up health costs for everyone," says the story says.
Four federal departments to cooperate against rural child poverty
The Obama administration named 10 communities from Machias, Maine, to Blanding, Utah, as demonstration sites for a cooperative effort by four federal departments to reduce child poverty in rural America.
Poverty rate plateaus at one in six rural Americans
One out of every six rural Americans - more than 8.2 million people - lives in poverty, according to a report by the Census Bureau. The rural poverty rate of 16.5 percent for 2014 was not statistically different than the 2013 rate. As usual, the rural rate was higher than the rate in cities, which was 14.5 percent, and the overall U.S. rate of 14.8 percent.
One in four rural children lives in poverty
The child poverty rate in rural America grew to 26 percent in the decade following the 2000 Census, when it was 19 percent, says a USDA analysis. By comparison, the poverty rate for urban children is now 21 percent.
U-Kentucky is tabbed by USDA for rural child-poverty center
The University of Kentucky will establish a Rural Child Poverty Nutrition Center to help local groups find ways to coordinate nutrition programs and reduce food insecurity among children in rural areas.
Rural, urban poor children show differences in memory skills
Low-income children do not score as well as higher-income children in tests of "working memory," the ability to manipulate information in the mind.
Rural housing, a silent crisis
Affordable housing often is a debate heard amid gentrifying neighborhoods or high-cost cities, notes the Atlantic. "But cities aren’t the only places that are lacking when it comes to adequate housing at affordable prices.
Fewer jobs in 2 of 3 of rural counties than before recession
"There are 1,260 rural counties with fewer people working than seven years ago; 711 rural counties have more jobs than in November 2007," writes Bill Bishop at the Daily Yonder in looking at the recovery from the 2008-09 recession.
Mobile phones for poor farmers’ upward mobility
Mobile phones - and other types of communication technology - can be a powerful way to improve the welfare of the rural poor, writes Maximo Torero of the International Food Policy Research Institute.
Half of Americans who don’t use Internet are rural residents
While only one-fifth of the U.S. population, rural Americans account for half of people who don't use the Internet, say the Daily Yonder, citing a McKinsey and Co report.
Rural poverty rate falls sharply, still above US average
The poverty rate in rural America was 16.1 percent, down sharply from the previous year, but still notably higher than the U.S. average, said the Census Bureau's annual Income and Poverty report. Census said the rural poverty rate dropped by 1.6 points for 2013, from 17.7 percent in 2013. One-fifth of Americans live in rural areas.
Poverty – geographically, a rural phenomenon
"At the geographic level, poverty in the United States is overwhelmingly a rural phenomenon," says an introductory article in Choices, the journal of agricultural economics. "Compared to rural America, urban America has been experiencing lower poverty rates. This gap has existed since the 1960s, when the poverty rates were first officially calculated, and it has been widening in the last few years."
Rural poverty an enduring problem
Discussion of poverty often focuses "on the 'culture' of poor urban residents," says front page story in New York Times. "Almost forgotten is how many ways poverty plays out in America, and how much long-term poverty is a rural problem."