A Century of Research on Rural Development and Regional Issues

Rural North America has undergone a major economic transformation over the past century due to labor‐saving technological progress, reductions in transport costs, and rising household incomes. The results are greater rural economic diversity, selected rural population decline, increased rural–urban interdependence, emergent exurban areas, and amenity‐led rural growth. We summarize key research insights and provide a selected review of the economics literature over the past 100 years with a focus on this economic transformation of rural places, its implications for rural communities, and key modeling innovations and applications. The many important contributions by agricultural economists are highlighted.