Farming is still an important sector in rural economic development of West Virginia where 44% of the population lives in rural areas and 24% of the land is used for farming. While income earnings, education and employ...Farming is still an important sector in rural economic development of West Virginia where 44% of the population lives in rural areas and 24% of the land is used for farming. While income earnings, education and employment rates are low in rural areas, poverty rates and unemployment are high compared to the urban areas. Thus, in the context of rural development farming is a potential major economic sector where 42% of the people＇s primary occupation is reported as farming. The objective of this study is to identify and estimate the potential impacts of farm employment in rural economic growth of West Virginia. Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and U.S Census Bureau for the period of 1993 to 2008 are used for the empirical analysis. A model derived from the three simultaneous equations of Duncan is used for analysis. Three-Stage Least Squares （3SLS） method using the statistical package of STATA is used for estimation. The results concerning simultaneous relationships with population density growth, per capita income growth, and farm employment growth reveal significant importance of farming in rural economic development of West Virginia. Furthermore, the results indicate the positive impacts of population density, number of people with farming as principal occupation, and crop production on rural farming sector.展开更多
文摘Farming is still an important sector in rural economic development of West Virginia where 44% of the population lives in rural areas and 24% of the land is used for farming. While income earnings, education and employment rates are low in rural areas, poverty rates and unemployment are high compared to the urban areas. Thus, in the context of rural development farming is a potential major economic sector where 42% of the people＇s primary occupation is reported as farming. The objective of this study is to identify and estimate the potential impacts of farm employment in rural economic growth of West Virginia. Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and U.S Census Bureau for the period of 1993 to 2008 are used for the empirical analysis. A model derived from the three simultaneous equations of Duncan is used for analysis. Three-Stage Least Squares （3SLS） method using the statistical package of STATA is used for estimation. The results concerning simultaneous relationships with population density growth, per capita income growth, and farm employment growth reveal significant importance of farming in rural economic development of West Virginia. Furthermore, the results indicate the positive impacts of population density, number of people with farming as principal occupation, and crop production on rural farming sector.
