Farm Structure and Community Viability in the Northern Great Plains

The way in which the economic base of regional economies influences the viability of the communities that serve them has been a subject of inquiry for several decades. Many previous studies have been static in nature, thereby failing to capture the influence of changes in the base through time. Othe...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Review of regional studies 1993, Vol.23 (3), p.265
Main Authors: Stabler, Jack C., Olfert, M.R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural economics
Agricultural production
Agriculture
Farms
Hypotheses
Influence
Population density
Regional studies
Rural areas
Variables
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The way in which the economic base of regional economies influences the viability of the communities that serve them has been a subject of inquiry for several decades. Many previous studies have been static in nature, thereby failing to capture the influence of changes in the base through time. Others, conducted over a period of years, have included only one (or a few) independent variables and have, consequently, provided a very selective view of the relationship. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between the viability of 598 communities distributed among three agricultural economic regions in Saskatchewan over a 30-year period. A total of37 variables describes each community at three points in time during the period studied. A distinct positive association is observed between agricultural diversification, smaller farms, higher population density, and community viability. Conversely, a higher incidence of decline is associated with lack of diversification, larger farms, and lower population density.
ISSN:0048-749X
1553-0892
DOI:10.52324/001c.9119