The Contours and Correlates of Informal Work in Rural Pennsylvania*

Abstract Social scientists have increasingly come to recognize the informal economy as a prominent and permanent structural feature of modern society. Rural sociologists have made a considerable contribution to this literature, demonstrating informal work to factor prominently in the livelihood strategies of rural Americans. Despite this scholarly attention significant gaps persist in our understanding of the informal economy. Drawing on data from a survey of family households in nonmetropolitan Pennsylvania, this paper examines the contours and correlates of informal work. The results make a strong case that participation in informal work is widespread and most often combined with formal work as a household livelihood strategy. While income is not found to be a significant correlate of informal work, it is found to influence the reasons cited for participation. Important correlates of informal work are identified and differences in the factors associated with informal work done to generate income (cash or in‐kind) versus savings are revealed.     

Local Government Fiscal Burden in Nonmetropolitan America1

Rising fiscal pressure on local governments in rural areas of the United States is documented in this study. The level of fiscal burden on taxpayers to support local governments in nonmetropolitan areas is found to be higher than that in metropolitan areas between 1977 and 1987. Using a model from the urban fiscal literature, the level of fiscal burden in nonmetropolitan areas is found to be influenced by a combination of demographic, socioeconomic, intergovernmental, and historical factors. Intergovernmental revenue transfers from the state and federal government play a critical role in determining the level of fiscal burden rural taxpayers bear. These findings have implications for rural economic development and for understanding how rural areas are influenced by the larger society.     

Gender Inequality in Nonmetropolitan and Metropolitan Areas1

Abstract Nonmetropolitan-metropolitan differences in the United States are large and growing, but we know relatively little about how they interact with gender differences. Using data from the CPS, the Census PUMS, and the GSS, we find nonmetropolitan and metropolitan areas are quite similar in the gender gap in earnings and in rates of married women's labor force participation. Occupational sex segregation is higher and some gender attitudes are a few percentage points less egalitarian in nonmetropolitan areas. Each of these dimensions of gender stratification has been declining over the last two decades and the declines are roughly similar in nonmetropolitan and metropolitan areas. Variations in gender stratification have been greater over time than across place. Thus, while both place and gender are important dimensions of stratification, there appears to have been little interaction between the two.     

Nonmetropolitan Sex-Role Ideologies: A Longitudinal Study1

Abstract Using the two waves (1987–1988 and 1992–1994) from the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), I focused on the 3,792 Main Respondents (MRs) living in sexual unions at Wave 1 who, along with the spouse or domestic partner, were successfully recontacted at Wave 2. MRs from both formal marriages and nonmarital cohabitations were included. An identically worded set of questions about proper roles for men and women was posed to each member of the pair at Wave 1 and again at Wave 2. An Exploratory Factor Analysis uncovered two factors. A conservative orientation on the Sexuality/Reproduction Factor (#1) defined legal marriage as the only acceptable domain for sexual intercourse, pregnancy, and childbirth. An orthodox perspective on the Childcare Factor (#2) assigned mothers the primary responsibility for the care of young children and men responsibility for earning the main living. In this study, we tested the hypotheses that nonmetro residents would be more conservative on both sex-role dimensions than metro residents at Wave 1, would be slower than metro residents to adopt more egalitarian attitudes, and thus would remain more traditional on both sex-role dimensions at Wave 2. The influence of nonmetro-to-metro and metro-to-nonmetro migration, as well as the sway over attitudes of the spouse/partner, was taken into account.     

Nonmetropolitan Poor Children and Reliance on Public Assistance1

Abstract This research documents trends from 1970 through 1990 in the utilization and ameliorative effects of public assistance among poor children in nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) and metropolitan (metro) America. Results indicate that the families of nonmetro poor children rely more heavily on parental earnings and less so on public assistance when compared to their metro counterparts; that there was a sharp rise over the period in reliance on public assistance, especially among nonmetro children, and a corresponding decline in reliance on earnings; that the ability of public assistance to ameliorate child poverty is modest; and that while the ameliorative effects are always greater in metro than nonmetro areas, this disparity declined over the 1980s owing partially to improvement in nonmetro areas.     

Structural Determinants of Infant Mortality in Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan America1

Abstract A conceptual model of the impact of structural advantage and disadvantage on infant mortality rates is developed and fitted to countylevel data. This model includes mediating endogenous constructs representing medical care availability, the incidence of teenage childbearing, and low birthweight rates and is estimated for three residence categories. Both direct and indirect effects of social structure and teenage childbearing on infant mortality vary significantly across the categories. Structural advantage exerts a significant and negative direct effect on infant mortality rates in urban areas, but in rural areas this effect is indirect, operating through teenage childbearing and low birthweight. Structural disadvantage significantly increases infant mortality in both rural and urban settings, but the effects operate directly in metropolitan areas and indirectly in rural areas. These results underscore the central role that social structure continues to play in determining infant mortality rates in the United States.     

Retirement Migration and the Use of Services in Nonmetropolitan Counties1

A conceptual framework of need, enabling, and predisposing determinants of services utilization is employed in an analysis of the use of public services among recent inmigrants (N = 306) and longer-term residents (N = 323) age 60 and older in retirement-destination counties of the Middle-Atlantic region of the United States. Logistic regression is used to examine whether migration status affects use of an array of public services or whether migration transmits the effects of other selectivity factors such as age, gender, income, and health status as indicators of need, enabling, and predisposing characteristics. Being an inmigrant predisposes use of recreation-oriented public services regardless of selectivity, but other characteristics of older individuals rather than migration per se predict use of other public services.     

Minority Poverty in Nonmetropolitan Texas*

Abstract Despite a high prevalence of poverty among minorities in nonmetropolitan areas, research and policy concerns regarding poverty have continued focusing on metropolitan minorities. This study uses a model integrating individual, household, and structural factors to examine poverty among Latinos, blacks, and Anglos in nonmetropolitan and, for comparative purposes, metropolitan areas, using data from the 1985 Special Texas Census TDHS 1987. The findings show that minorities in nonmetropolitan areas tend to have the highest poverty rates. In addition, consistent as well as divergent patterns exist among the six ethnic-resident groups with respect to the relationships among the various individual, household, and structural factors and poverty.     

Migration Consequences for Household Energy Consumption in a Nonmetropolitan Recreation-Retirement Area1

Abstract We consider here the energy consumption characteristics of migrants and nonmigrants in two northern Wisconsin counties characterized by relatively rapid growth as areas of retirement and recreational activities. Migrants from metropolitan areas use more electricity when measured at the meter and report driving more. Both of these differentials are sustained even after controlling for personal and behavioral variables, appliance ownership, and type of energy use. Metropolitan migrants do not spend more for space heating, although there is again a positive effect on space heating energy consumption net of the other variables. We conclude that metropolitan migrants make an energy impact on the area, due in part, to their characteristics, housing, and type of energy consumption, but also because of differences in the way they use energy. In these ways they add an element of heterogeneity to the rural community, as well as increased demand for energy consumption.     

Nonmetropolitan Residential Segregation Revisited

Abstract Nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) residential segregation in 1990 and change in the preceding decade have received insufficient attention. A set of empirical hypotheses are derived and assessed using nonmetro and metropolitan (metro) counties in Texas. Places in nonmetro counties were more segregated than places in metro counties in 1990 as in 1980. Substantial declines in segregation occurred in both nonmetro and metro places but were largest in growing places in nonmetro counties. An analysis controlling for other determinants of segregation supports the premise that population change was a major determinant of 1980–1990 change in segregation. Implications for nonmetro areas in the 1990s are discussed.     

Revisiting the Rural-Urban Contrast: Personal Networks in Nonmetropolitan and Metropolitan Settings1

Abstract To revisit the rural-urban contrast, we use data from non-metropolitan and metropolitan subsamples of the 1985 General Social Survey to test whether, compared to personal networks in urban settings, personal networks in rural settings contain ties of greater intensity and role multiplexity, are based more on kinship and neighborhood solidarities rather than on friendship, are smaller, are denser, and have greater educational, race-ethnic, and religious homogeneity, but less age and gender homogeneity. Our results are generally consistent with these predictions. We then present evidence for rural diversity by comparing data from residents of a two-parish nonmetropolitan area in southwestern Louisiana to the nonmetropolitan subsample of the GSS. After discussing possible mechanisms for this covariation of spatial and aspatial communities, we conclude by commenting on the potential of network analysis to contribute to the resolution of these and other substantively important problems in rural sociology.     

Economic Restructuring,Gender, and Informal Work: A Case Study of a Rural County1

Abstract This paper combines three issues that have previously been considered separately: economic restructuring, gender, and participation in the informal economy. Drawing on two complementary data sets of interviews with the residents of a rural county, the paper first suggests that the participation in the informal economy is extensive. The second major finding is that households whose members have held on to “good” work in the formal economy participate in the informal economy in a different way than do households whose members are less fortunate. Third, the paper demonstrates that participation in the informal economy is highly differentiated by gender. Finally the intersections among location in the formal economy, gender, and informal economic activities are discussed.     

Nonstandard Employment in the Nonmetropolitan United States*

Abstract We examine the prevalence of nonstandard employment in the nonmetropolitan United States using the Current Population Survey Supplement on Contingent Work (1999 and 2001). We find that nonstandard work is more prevalent in nonmetropolitan than in central city or suburban areas. Logistic regression models controlling for sociode‐mographic and work characteristics, show that nonmetropolitan workers experience higher odds of nonstandard employment than central city or suburban workers. Variations in industrial and occupational structures in nonmetro and metro areas do not explain residential differences in nonstandard work. We also estimate the odds of employment in each of the three components of nonstandard work: contingent work, part‐time, and varied hour work. Nonmetropolitan workers are more likely than central city and suburban workers to be employed in contingent or varied hour work. The benefits and wages of nonstandard work are lower than for standard work across residence areas. The results highlight the importance of understanding nonstandard work and the components of nonstandard work, particularly when considering the nature of work across industries, occupations, and residence.     

The Recent Revival of Widespread Population Growth in Nonmetropolitan Areas of the United States1

Abstract Population growth was widespread in nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) areas of the United States during the early 1990s. More than 64 percent of the 2,277 nonmetro counties gained population between 1990 and 1992, compared with only 45 percent in the 1980s. The nonmetro population still grew at a slower pace than did the metropolitan population, but the gap was much narrower than during the 1980s. Net migration gains accounted for 43 percent of the total estimated nonmetro population increase of 879,000 between 1990 and 1992. These findings suggest it is premature to conclude that the renewed population growth in nonmetro areas first noted in the 1970s has ended.     

Depression and Missed Work among Informal Caregivers of Older Individuals with Dementia

Although providing informal care can negatively affect caregiver emotional health and lead to depression, the association between caregiver depression and missed work is unknown. We use data from the National Longitudinal Caregiver Survey to examine the relationship between caregiver depression and missed work among informal caregivers for older veterans with Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia. Two-part models are used to estimate the expected hours of work missed among working caregivers. Caregiver depression is statistically significantly associated with the likelihood and amount of time missed at work, resulting in an average of an extra half-day of work missed per month. While the effect of caregiver depression on work missed is modest, it represents another possible benefit from interventions to support caregivers.     

Demographic Change in Nonmetropolitan America, 1980 to 19901

Abstract Between 1980 and 1990, the nonmetropolitan population grew by 3.7 percent. Natural increase accounted for the entire population gain, offsetting a small migration loss (1.7%). A significant net loss of young adults from nonmetropolitan areas was only partially offset by an influx of older adults. The net gain through natural increase was small by historical standards and natural decrease became more common. The demographic trends of the 1980s were neither a repeat of the turnaround of the 1970s nor a reversion to historical patterns. Rather, they straddled the trends of the two preceding periods. These findings provide the demographic groundwork for future theoretical development. The policy implications of such population redistribution and demographic compositional shifts also are considered.     

Reconsidering the Division of Household Labor: Incorporating Volunteer Work and Informal Support

The gendered division of household labor is more multifaceted than the allocation of paid work and domestic work. People also engage in volunteer work and informal support. I investigate the applicability of household labor allocation theories—specifically the time constraints, economic, and “doing gender” perspectives—to all unpaid work. I analyze the 1997 Australian Time Use Survey diaries of 1,797 married couples using logistic, ordinary least squares, and seemingly unrelated regressions. Analyses show that volunteer work and support work are substantial expenditures associated with paid work and housework, but they do not create a “third shift.” Volunteer work and support work are part of the gendered household labor allocation process determined, in part, by time constraints and by gender.     

Returns vs. Endowments in the Earnings Attainment Process for Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Men and Women1

Abstract Three explanations typically are offered for differences in earnings: (1) individuals have different levels of human capital and hold different jobs (endowments differ), (2) rewards to human capital and job characteristics differ (returns differ), and (3) some combination of differences in endowments and returns explain variations in earnings. We argue that the structure of labor markets in nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) areas differs from that in metropolitan (metro) areas such that returns, as well as endowments, vary. These variations in returns favor metropolitan workers, explaining the predominant portion of the metro/nonmetro earnings gap. We examine the earnings differences for metro and nonmetro men and women in both 1977 and 1987, showing that returns outweigh endowments in explaining that gap for both men and women, although their importance decreases over the ten-year period. Research to improve our understanding of how differences in labor market structure produce differential returns has begun and may yield yet another avenue for action for policymakers interested in reducing metro/nonmetro inequalities.     

Sex Ratio and Family Structure in the Nonmetropolitan United States

The sex ratio hypothesis maintains that the ratio of marriageable men to marriageable women can have major implications for family formation and structure. Despite extensive research attention, the sex ratio hypothesis has yet to be tested on general nonmetropolitan populations. This study of nonmetropolitan counties in the United States found strong support for the sex ratio hypothesis. Counties with low sex ratios (shortage of men) had lower proportions of married couple households and a corresponding higher proportion of female-headed households. These low sex ratio counties also had fewer adults married, and a lower proportion of their children living in married couple households with a higher proportion of children living in female-headed households.     

The Renewal of Population Loss in the Nonmetropolitan Great Plains

Abstract An analysis of population trends in 293 nonmetropolitan Great Plains counties from 1950 to 1990 reveals that the population turnaround of the 1970s has indeed ended. During the 1980s, 84 percent of these nonmetropolitan counties had total population declines, a proportion greater than any other decade studied. A majority of counties had natural population increase, but such increases were offset by net outmigration as 96 percent of the counties had such losses during the 1980s. The influence of the independent variables on population change shifted from decade to decade. The most important variable in producing positive population trends was the ability of the county to attract retirement migrants.