摘要：Throughout much of the rural heartland of North America, survival has re-placed development as the focus of regional economic initiatives. Over vast areas, the restructuring of agriculture and other primary industries, which supported rural economies for generations, has not been offset by alternative development. Job loss and outmigration have been accompanied by business failures, school closures, and a diminished capacity to cope with economic and social problems (Ryan et al. 1995). Improved transportation and communications technologies have made it possible for those who remain in rural areas to conduct much of their business in distant, but larger, urban centres (Stabler and Olfert 1992; Leistritz et al. 1992).
