Timber,Minerals, and Social Change: An Exploratory Test of Two Resource-Dependent Communities1

Abstract There are few empirical tests of the relationship between local resource production and community social systems. This paper reports the results of research on two communities in northern Idaho: one timber-dependent, the other mining-dependent. Data were collected for 13 indicators of resource production and 15 indicators of social change for periods up to 65 years. Regression analysis was used to test if community social change is associated with the production level of local resource systems. The final models support the hypothesis in both communities. The form, lag condition, and strength of the relationship is complex and may vary with the dependent indicator. The original causal image—the rural community with a social order that directly responds to changes in local resource production—is blurred. Suggestions are made for future research.