Rural Poverty Research
Center
The Rural Poverty Research Center (RPRC)
at the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI),
Columbia, MO, is expanding research on rural
poverty. The RPRC, which seeks to expand
interest in collaborative rural poverty research
and encourage related funding, sponsored
a conference in 2004 to identify a research
agenda and strategies to advance knowledge
about persistent rural poverty. Results from
that conference are now available on the conference
Web site. The spring 2004 issue of "Perspectives
on Poverty, Policy, and Place," the RPRC
newsletter, includes summaries of the
main conference presentations.
Two follow-up regional research conferences
focused on regional variations in rural poverty
and building capacity for research on rural
poverty:
- "Cultures, Governance, and Rural
Poverty in the Midwest,” Chicago,
2004, sponsored by the North Central Regional
Center for Rural Development. More information,
including proceedings, is available on
the conference Web
site.
- "In the Shadows of Plenty: Rural
Poverty Research Capacity of the South," Memphis,
TN, 2004, sponsored by the Southern Rural
Development Center. The agenda, proceedings,
and additional information are on conference Web
site.
RPRC Co-Director, Bruce Weber developed
a “musical chairs’ hypothesis
about the current economic system in relation
to rural poverty. He explains, “Our
economic system is a game of musical chairs:
no matter how much we increase people’s
agility and speed in getting into a seat,
there will never be enough chairs for people
to sit in. The implication [on future research]
is that we need to increase the number of
chairs and/or change the rules so everybody
doesn’t need a seat to live well.”
In 2005, the RPRC is working with CSREES’ four Regional
Rural Development Centers to expand
research on rural poverty and develop fundable
research proposals.
For more information contact Bruce Weber, Oregon State University, Brian Dabson, RUPRI, or Sally Maggard, CSREES National Program Leader for Economic and Community Systems.
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