Agriculture on the American Great Plains has been constrained by historical water scarcity. After World War II, technological improvements made groundwater from the Ogallala aquifer available for irrigation. Comparing counties over the Ogallala with nearby similar counties, groundwater access increased irrigation intensity and initially reduced the impact of droughts. Over time, land-use adjust...

Older blacks migrated to nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) communities in the 1990s to a degree not true of the past. Some of the nonmetro counties that attracted them are well-known retirement areas also favored by other retirees, mostly whites. Two-thirds of black retirement counties, however, are areas in the Old South that are not attracting other retirees at a substantial rate, if at all. Althoug...

After a steep recession in the 1980s, many rural places are mounting a strong economic comeback in the 1990s. Rural counties, for instance, have added jobs in the 1990s at about 1.8 percent annually, compared with meager gains in the 1980s. And some counties, especially trade centers or those with scenic amenities that have attracted retirees and tourists, are posting stronger growth than metro...

This study estimates the probability of mental health specialist use among elderly and disabled Medicare beneficiaries treated for a primary psychiatric diagnosis, based on the 1991 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) and physician claims. Beneficiaries with psychotic and affective disorders or multiple psychiatric diagnoses had a higher probability of specialty use, as did beneficiaries...

Cities and counties are overlapping jurisdictions in most US states. Virginia cities, however, are independent of counties, with separate tax bases and residents. This paper examines whether the Virginia system creates a horizontal relationship resembling that among cities in other states. It uses revealed preference axioms to compare spending patterns against competitive median voter benchmark...

After a steep recession in the 1980s, many rural places are mounting a strong economic comeback in the 1990s. Rural counties, for instance, have added jobs in the 1990s at about 1.8 percent annually, compared with meager gains in the 1980s. And some counties, especially trade centers or those with scenic amenities that have attracted retirees and tourists, are posting stronger growth than metro...

In this study we examine the impact of lottery sales and the introduction of new lottery games on the retail activity using panel data on all West Virginia counties over the 1987-2001 period. We find that the introduction of video lottery spurred retail activity in those counties that have been granted the authority to offer video lottery. Empirical analysis also suggests that there is a positi...

In the American South, post-bellum economic development may have been restricted in part by white landowners’ access to low-wage black labor. This paper examines the impact of the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 on black out-migration and subsequent agricultural development. Flooded counties experienced an immediate and persistent out-migration of black population. Over time, landowners in floo...

PEER REVIEWED Figure. Working to expand youth suicide prevention activities, the Illinois Department of Public Health’s Youth Suicide Prevention Project developed these maps to 1) illustrate the burden of self-inflicted injury among youth aged 15 to 18, 2) display the locations of schools receiving Gatekeeper trainings, and 3) to identify high-risk counties for self-inflicted injury and future ...