| Abstract: | Recent rural economic problems have prompted some states totarget economic development assistance to distressed rural areas.The most common way to target these programs has been to allocateaid based on unemployment rates. This may be a questionablepractice, however, because the unemployment rate is a poor indicatorof economic difficulty in many rural areas. This article assessesthe strengths and weaknesses of alternative economic, social,and fiscal indicators that are available for allocating aidto distressed rural communities. It concludes with some specificsuggestions for improving the effectiveness of state aid fordistressed rural areas. Background information is provided concerningrural economic and fiscal difficulties in the 1980s and recentstate initiatives. |
