AN EVALUATION OF A WIDE RANGE OF JOB-GENERATING ACTIVITIES FOR RURAL COUNTIES

Abstract

The job-generating activities of governments and civic groups in fifteen rural counties on the Delmarva Peninsula and southern Maryland are examined through more than 175 informant interviews and field work. These counties engaged in a wide range of job-generating activities and many of these were directed toward business recruitment. When community leaders ranked activities for their impacts on jobs, industrial parks received the most high ranks, economic development units second and tourism promotion third. Special financial arrangements for relocating or new businesses were evaluated as very important on average to economic development and grantsmanship was a successful activity in all counties though it never ranked as the first or second most productive job-generating activity. Guidance on economic development strategies for rural counties are derived from the findings.