Rural Areas in Transition

Norman Walzer, Ph.D., is a Professor of Economics Emeritus at Western Illinois University where he founded the statewide Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs (IIRA) in 1989 and retired as director in 2005. He has served as president of the Community Development Society, the Midwest Section of the Regional Science Association, and has held leadership positions in other professional organizations. He has published extensively with 27 authored, coauthored, or edited books and numerous articles on Collective Impact, local public finance, community and economic development, strategic planning, community-owned businesses, and related issues. He co-edits Local Development and Society, an international community and economic development journal and is on the Editorial Board of Community Development.Christopher D. Merrett, Ph.D., is the Dean for Innovation and Economic Development, Director of the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs, and Program Chair for the master’s degree in Community and Economic Development at Western Illinois University. His research focus is on regional development, social justice, and cooperatives as they relate to community development. He co-edited (with Norman Walzer) two books on this topic and he has also published on these issues in a wide range of academic and policy outlets.

• 1. Rural Areas: Concerns and Potential Norman Walzer & Christopher Merrett2. Regional Economic Trends Across the Rural-Urban Divide Steven Deller & Tessa Conroy3. Rural America Can Have a Prosperous FutureDonald W. Macke4. Rural Federal Policy in TransitionTony Pipa & Natalie Geismar5. Economic Contributions of Hospitals to Rural Areas: Are They Necessary? Ernest Goss & Taylr Bahr6. The Role of Rural Nonprofits: Innovation, Opportunities, & ThreatsJayme Walters7. Social Enterprises as a Revitalization Strategy for Rural CommunitiesPeter Musinguzi, Nicolette Larder, & Derek Baker8. Building a Rural Entrepreneurial EcosystemKimber Lanning 9. Rewriting the Rural Narrative Ryan Allen & Ben Winchester10. Towards Citizens’ Enablement: Examples of Academics Empowering Resident to Cost Effectively Solve Community IssuesJames Powell11. Transitioning Businesses to the Next Generation in New Ways Jennifer Hawkins, Norman Walzer, & John Bennett12. Acquiring, Building, and Investing in Private Businesses: A New ApproachDawn McGee, Michael Braun, & Kiah Hochstetler13. Opportunities in Rural Areas: What have We Learned?Norman Walzer & Chris Merrett

"The best days for rural America lie ahead. That’s the encouraging message of this first-rate group of scholars. As more and more Americans seek to live in human-scale communities that really work, the strategies outlined in this book—for economic development, business ownership, local investment, and entrepreneurship--can seed a rural Renaissance."Michael H. Shuman, Author, PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR LIFE IS