University Relations News Bureau (601) 325-3442
Contact: Maridith Geuder; [email protected];
Dr. Frank Howell (601) 325-7127
Those in rural areas pay a social cost, university study shows
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A social scientist based in one of the nation's most rural states says that those from places outside of urban centers can expect to pay a certain cost, primarily in their income levels as adults.
More than one-quarter of the U.S. is classified rural by the Census Bureau, as defined by population density.
Sociologist Frank Howell of Mississippi State University's Social Science Research Center has completed a study titled "The Social Cost of Growing Up in Rural America."
He and two graduate student researchers examined the effects of rural origins on education, occupational status, and family income levels in adulthood since 1900. They covered six periods that coincide with major federal rural development programs.
Their thesis was that if all the federal programs targeted at "developing" rural areas had worked, rural youth would eventually achieve levels of socioeconomic success on par with youth from cities, other things being equal.
Using large national survey data, the researchers sorted rural individuals into historical periods according to when they were 16 years old. Then, with databases collected under sponsorship of the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education, they traced how rural origins affected socioeconomic achievement when the individuals had reached adulthood.
"We asked if those in rural areas have equal chances for education, higher-status jobs, and economic reward," Howell said. The study also gauged whether outcomes could be changed if the person migrated from a rural to an urban environment.
To determine levels of success, the researchers applied statistical models that measure achievement. The result was a historical mosaic that in general reflects the impact on individual well-being of federal programs such as the federal highway act, the rural electrification administration, and a host of other rural development programs.
The study shows that in completed years of schooling, occupational status, and family income, having lived at age 16 in a rural area is related to a social cost in adulthood for most of this century.
The period after World War II begins to signal a turnaround, but not necessarily because of rural development programs.
"At the beginning of the century, those living in rural areas received significantly less education than those in non-rural areas," Howell explained. "By the end of the century, there was virtually no difference in the years of schooling they each obtained."
A major influence was the G.I. Bill and the rapid expansion of higher education after World War II, Howell believes. "Viewed in the context of social history, the G.I. Bill appears to have been a clear catalyst for enhancing educational opportunities," he said.
The statistical models which control for a number of other factors related to success in adulthood, such as parental social standing, academic ability and performance, show a clear deficit among young people coming from or moving to rural areas.
The study showed those who move from rural areas to cities typically earn an average of $3,500 more annually. Urbanites who move to rural areas tend to lose that amount.
"This says something about local economies and social opportunities in contemporary America," Howell says. "It suggests to us that the differences aren't in the people themselves but in local community factors."
Howell sas income differences are most striking for those who live in non-farm rural areas. "Rural policy often tends to just be farm policy," he said. "Urban legislators who ignore the rural non-farm sector are ignoring a large constituency. We need to better understand that farm policy does not deal with all rural issues."
Howell says the study raises a question about what will affect the future quality of life in rural America. "We don't have something like the G.I. Bill as a catalyst today," he observed. "Education policy can profoundly affect rural areas. We might ask, 'what's the current catalyst?'"
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