Jason Henderson

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City · Regional Affairs

Although scholars have long emphasized the importance of entrepreneurs to long-term growth prospects, entrepreneurship often receives less attention by policy makers than traditional industrial recruitment efforts as regional growth engines. The effects of entrepreneurship may be more subtle than the latter approaches, but business creation can hav...

In 2010, rural America was at the forefront of the economic recovery. As sluggish job growth reined in the U.S. economy, rural firms harnessed stronger global commodity demand and raced ahead of their metro peers. In fact, rural job growth sped up in the second half of the year with jobs stretching 2 percent above year-ago levels in the third quart...

Sweeping demographic shifts are challenging the growth of many rural communities in the Tenth District. The retirement of the baby boomers, coupled with the exodus of young adults, threatens to leave rural areas with a rapidly aging population and a shrinking local workforce. The strength of these demographic changes could hinder economic growth fo...

As the recession intensified in 2008, rural economies held firm. Through the first half of the year, strong commodity prices supported robust farm incomes and contributed to relatively stronger gains on Main Street. Moreover, the housing correction was less intense than in urban areas, and the financial crisis was less severe than on Wall Street. ;...

Water, one of the most fundamental resources for economic activity, covers about three-fourths of the earth’s surface--but only 2.5 percent of that amount is considered fresh water. While freshwater supplies in the United States are relatively abundant, increasing demand and drought, especially in the Great Plains, have left some states wondering w...

The rural economy was strong in 2007. Record farm incomes were fueled by rising ethanol demand and by stronger export demand, which was driven in part by a weaker dollar. Farmers used the year’s higher profits both to strengthen their financial conditions and to boost investment in land and equipment. Meanwhile, businesses on Main Streets reaped be...

The rural economy began 2006 facing an uncertain outlook. For two years, rural growth had been unusually strong. But rising energy prices threatened to stall the expansion. Many businesses had already been weakened by high input costs, and many households were feeling squeezed by higher costs for gas and heating fuel. As the year progressed, howeve...

Wildlife recreation - hunting, fishing, and wildlife watching - appears to be an increasingly important pastime for many Americans. From 1991-2001, U.S. wildlife recreation expenditures surged from $77 billion to $108 billion in 2001 dollars. Land lease and ownership expenditures by wildlife recreation participants are also rising and appear to be...

In 2001, the dot.com bubble burst and U.S. e-commerce growth slowed. Slower e-commerce growth may signal changes in the use and perceptions of the Internet and e-commerce in agribusiness companies. Agribusiness firm managers were surveyed in 2004 to identify agribusiness use of the Internet and e-commerce and to solicit their perceptions about the...

Rural America will remember 2005 as a year of drought, hurricanes, and surging gas prices. To be sure, some regions of the country faced devastating natural catastrophes. Yet, these catastrophes did not stop the farm sector from posting another banner income year—nor did they stop the nonfarm sectors from enjoying solid gains in employment and inco...

This paper explores the factors guiding Internet adoption by agribusiness firms. The relationship between Internet strategies and manager perceptions on the barriers to and catalysts for Internet adoption are analyzed in a supply-chain management framework. Using factor analysis and an ordered Probit model, results indicate that Internet strategies...

This paper examines local and regional attributes associated with growth in the food processing industry. The paper uses industrial location studies to develop a model of food processing plants’growth. Ordinary least squares (OLS) models are estimated to analyze which local, regional and state attributes are associated with county level growth, mea...

Regions are facing rapidly evolving pressures from today’s global economy. The old rules of the game, where traditional assets such as cheap land and labor determined a region’s success or failure, no longer apply. Instead, new categories of assets are shaping economic prospects—assets like workforce skills, lifestyle amenities, access to capital a...

Banks play a key role in helping rural regions transform their economies by funding new business ventures. In rural America, community bankers often have a unique perspective on their local economy and local business prospects, thanks to their heavy personal involvement and face-to-face contact with customers. But community banks must now face a ch...

Jobs that require high-skill workers are becoming a crucial part of the rural economy—accounting for nearly 60% of today's rural jobs. Still, many outside firms and policymakers hold the outdated belief that rural America lacks the skills necessary to compete in the 21st century. At the heart of this myth is the reality that the traditional gauge o...

The rural economy broke free from the reins of recession in 2004 with an especially strong performance in the farm sector. Net farm income easily surpassed the record high of 2003. And the weakness that plagued the nonfarm rural economy in recent years appears to have been replaced with stronger job growth and higher incomes. Strong performances in...

We investigate the salary returns to the ability to play football with both feet. The majority of footballers are predominantly right footed. Using two data sets, a cross-section of footballers in the five main European leagues and a panel of players in the German Bundesliga, we find robust evidence of a substantial salary premium for two-footed ab...

Despi te the accelerating economic diversification of rural areas, many outside observers and policymakers still believe that rural America is synonymous with agriculture. While agriculture will always be a cornerstone of the rural economy, the prosperity of rural regions in the new century will depend crucially on their ability to produce more tha...

Economic headlines in rural America were mostly positive in 2003, especially in the farm sector. The farm economy broke out of its drought-induced recession. Low global crop supplies, strong demand, and high prices underpinned strong gains in U.S. farm income. Meanwhile, the nation’s economic recovery appeared to forge a beachhead in rural America...

Drought and a jobless recovery battered the rural economy in 2002. The worst drought since the Dust Bowl gripped many parts of rural America, leading to forest fires, livestock liquidations, short crop supplies, and a plunge in farm incomes. After a solid start, a soft period for the national economy limited the ability of rural businesses to creat...

As the U.S. economy slipped into recession in 2001, an already lackluster rural economy lost even more steam. Since 1995, job growth in rural areas has trailed growth in metro areas. But in the wake of last year’s terrorist attacks, national recession, and falling food demand, job rolls in many parts of rural America have not only stopped growing b...

Capturing value-added activity is often promoted as a rural development strategy, but this is difficult for specific communities lacking the resources to support food manufacturing activity. This study analyzes the relationship between local attributes and food manufacturing plant investments in Corn Belt counties between 1987 and 1995. Plant inves...