Developing and Assessing Potential Forward-Looking Distress Indicators for the Appalachian Region
June 2009Partridge, M., Lobao, L., Enver, A., Jeanty, W., Beaulieu, B., Gallardo, R., and Goetz, S.
In 2008, ARC commissioned a study of current and potential indicators of economic distress, with the goal of improving the ability of ARC’s federal and state partners to target resources effectively to counties facing barriers to economic progress. The study examined the indicators currently employed by ARC to classify counties as economically distressed, outlined the strengths and limitations associated with those indicators, and identified other indicators that may help provide greater insight into socioeconomic distress. Several predictive measures that correlate with future economic distress were evaluated, including population growth, education, and the employment/population ratio.
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