Resource Dearth: Challenges to Development in the American South

The essay focuses on the problem of promoting economic development in a part of the U.S. South plagued by what the authors refer to as a “resource dearth.” In the case examined, the Albemarle region in northeastern North Carolina, the authors argue that such a dearth exists, and that the area’s isolation, limited natural and human resources, and troubled history have held back the region’s economic progress and render development difficult there even today. That said, they suggest one possible strategy that might help: the establishment of viable “mini- growth poles” within reasonable commuting distance of the ten-county area examined.