Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Topics
Data & Maps
Surveys & Programs
Resource Library
Civic Community in Small-Town America: How Civic Welfare is Influenced by Local Capitalism and Civic Engagement
Civic Community in Small-Town America: How Civic Welfare is Influenced by Local Capitalism and Civic Engagement
Working Paper Number CES-01-19
Abstract
The aims of this paper are twofold: first, to gain a fuller understanding of factors that foster community cohesion and contribute to the residents’ social and economic well-being; and, second, to move beyond previous research that used larger spatial units such as states, counties, or aggregates of counties and to focus instead on American small towns (population 2,500-20,000). The data on small towns are drawn from public-use files and from confidential microdata from various economic censuses. From these sources we construct measures of locally oriented firms, self-employment, business establishments that serve as gathering places, and associations. The local capitalism and civic engagement variables generally perform as hypothesized; in some cases they are related quite strongly to civic welfare outcomes such as income levels, poverty rates, and nonmigration rates. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of working with place-level data and suggest some strategies for subsequent work on small towns and other incorporated places.
Page Last Revised - October 8, 2021
✕
Is this page helpful?
Yes
No
Yes
No✕
NO THANKS
255 characters maximum
255 characters maximum reached
255 characters maximum reached
✕
Thank you for your feedback.
Comments or suggestions?
Comments or suggestions?
