Progress 08/15/06 to 08/14/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: This one-year project examined Hispanic migration into rural America. The project used secondary data focusing on:(1)Do migrants to rural areas of the U.S. differ from those who migrate to urban areas in terms of human, social, physical capital(2)Have any differences been stable through time(3)Do differences vary by region of destination(4)Do interactions exist between rural/urban origin and rural/urban destination(5)What are the policy implications for rural development and community capacity-building given the specific characteristics identified in migrants to rural areas The primary objective was met and the research provided insight into these questions. The project's objectives addressed the FY2006 funding priorities: examination of the "social, economic, demographic, and/or policy conditions that foster or impede improved quality of life for rural residents, including recommendations for policies and practices effective in creating and sustaining rural community vitality and prosperity" (U.S. Agriculture Department 2005). A project product was transformation of the existing large scale data set into a platform allowing disaggregation into nonmetro and metro subsets. This allowed development of multivariate models using General Estimating Equations (GEE). GEE is a non-likelihood based technique apropos to repeated or clustered data. This is of import in that the data employed consisted of repeated measures of migration by individuals between 1965 and 2005. Thus an important intellectual product was the introduction (in refereed venues) of such models as opposed to standard techniques. Another important product was a series of publications for local communities. These products, provided to CES offices, gave local leaders information on techniques for understanding structure/change in the demographic profile of communities and how those changes may be influenced by Hispanic in-migration. Software was developed to graphically display changes in the Hispanic population in counties. This interactive program includes population differences in demographic structure between in-migrants and current residents in the South. It was made available for free and presented to the Southern Rural Development Center for dissemination. The project has provided data for a Public Policy dissertation currently underway. The dissertation extends the analysis of rural/urban differences beyond the case of Mexican migrants to migrants from other Meso-American countries. The project has expanded the knowledgebase regarding the unique role Hispanics play in rural communities. Results have been presented in professional venues including refereed journals, national meetings, CES publications and on the WEB. A key policy related product is the articulation of the importance of explicit recognition of unique circumstances of rural areas in the U.S. with respect to migration. Knowledge gained has spurred development of other, related projects, including research and outreach efforts to elucidate linkage between small scale agriculture, Mexican migration, and rural communities as well as the entrepreneurial capacity of recently arrived migrants in rural areas. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals: Frank L Farmer, PhD - Principal Investigator; Zola K. Moon, MA - Research Associate. Partner Organizations: Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Collaborators: The project team collaborated with Wayne P. Miller, PhD. of the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service on Extension publications. Training or professional development: The project provided data and non-monetary support for dissertation research by Amilcar Medina, a Graduate Student in the Public Policy PhD program at the University of Arkansas. The project provided training and information of the faculty participants in the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service Leadership Program. TARGET AUDIENCES: The project targeted a range of audiences including academic researchers, community practitioners, policy makers, government officials as well as the general public. To reach the wide variety of intended audiences, a number of activities were undertaken to present results. Refereed journal articles were produced, submitted and published. Extension publications have been produced and published. Numerous presentations have been given at professional meetings, for Extension leadership groups, and to the general public. Software has been developed to provide an on-line interactive graphical display and disseminated through professional and public outreach. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Presented in a number of venues, the outcomes indicate that differences exist between migrants selecting rural rather than urban destinations. Specifically, the research shows: 1) Since the 1960s migrants choosing rural destinations are less fluent in English, slightly older, much less educated, far more likely to be unskilled, more likely to be married, and more likely to be undocumented. 2) Since the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994, these migrants are far more likely to be single, have more education but have less English fluency, less work experience, less family experience with migration to the United States, and are more likely to come from small towns and rural areas of Mexico. 3) Specific differences exist when considering migration to the southern United States. Migrants choosing the South are more likely to be undocumented, more likely to arrive since NAFTA, come from a rural community, select a nonmetropolitan area of the South, own a business, home or property, come from a community in Mexico with high migration experience, but be the first in their own family to migrate. 4) An examination of agricultural experience of Hispanic migrants, as measured by owning agricultural land and agricultural work experience in the year prior to migrating was also conducted. Recent migrants to nonmetropolitan areas of the US arrive with small farm operator readiness and experience. When controlling for other key variables, a significant relationship exists between agricultural land ownership at origin (Mexico, in the current data) and the selection of a rural US destination. 5) Consideration of entrepreneurial readiness, as measured by owning businesses in the year prior to migrating, was undertaken. The data demonstrated a strong relationship with a rural migration destination. The results indicate these business owner migrants are less likely to be undocumented, more likely to select a rural destination, more likely to originate in a rural area, and more likely to be family "pioneers". Regional analyses for the Southern U. S. counties were also conducted on Hispanic population and age structures using the MMP data as well as Census data. These analyses were prepared especially for use by the general public and community development practitioners. An interactive graphical presentation of county- and state-level data was created and provided to the Southern Rural Development Center for dissemination. This one-year grant provided the basis for development of additional threads of research. Research grant applications have been developed as integrated projects with the Cooperative Extension Service, containing activities to directly impact communities. Based on the findings on linkages between agricultural experience, a project was developed aimed at encouraging small-farm sustainability and profitability within rural migrant communities and has been submitted for funding. Another project was developed based on entrepreneurial readiness, has been funded by NRI and has been initiated. A third project centered on poverty alleviation efforts for migrant women was submitted but is as yet unfunded.
Publications
- Farmer, F.L and Moon, Z.K. 2009 (In press). An Empirical Examination of Characteristics of Mexican Migrants to Metropolitan and Non-Metropolitan Areas of the United States. Rural Sociology. Vol. 74 No. 2.
- Medina,A. and Farmer, F.L. 2009 (Pending). Residential Preferences Among Immigrants in the United States: Hispanics Choosing Rural vs. Urban Settings. Dissertation Public Policy PhD. University of Arkansas.
- Farmer, F.L and Moon, Z.K. 2008. Hispanic Immigrants to Rural Areas: Empirical Comparisons of Entrepreneurial Readiness. Paper presented at Rural Sociology as Public Sociology: Past, Present and Future. Rural Sociological Society Annual Meeting, Manchester, NH, July 31, 2008.
- Farmer, F.L and Moon, Z.K. 2008. Empirical Comparisons of Entrepreneurial Readiness of Hispanic Immigrants to the Nonmetropolitan U.S. Paper presented at Rural Sociology as Public Sociology: Past, Present and Future. Rural Sociological Society Annual Meeting, Manchester, NH, July 31, 2008.
- Farmer, F.L and Moon, Z.K. 2008. Hispanic Immigrants to Rural Areas: Empirical Comparisons of Entrepreneurial Readiness. Rural Sociology Working Paper Series 2008-0010: University of Arkansas.
- Farmer, F.L and Moon, Z.K. 2008. An Empirical Examination of Mexican Migrants to Rural America and Small Farm Ownership and Experience. Rural Sociology Working Paper Series 2008-0020: University of Arkansas.
- Moon, Z.K. and Farmer, F.L. 2008. An Interactive Analysis of Hispanic Population Growth, Change and Structure in the Southern United States. Electronic file. University of Arkansas, distributed through the Southern Rural Development Center. http:/ruralsoc.uark.edu.
- Farmer, F.L , Moon, Z.K. and Miller, W. P. 2007. Understanding Community Demographics. University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service Publication No. MP470.
- Farmer, F. L and Moon, Z.K. 2007. Hispanic Populations and Demographic Change in Arkansas. Rural Sociology Working Paper Series 2007-0010: University of Arkansas.
- Farmer, F. L and Moon, Z.K. 2007. Demographic Change and Extension Program Planning. Presentation to Cooperative Extension Planning Conference. Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, Little Rock, Arkansas.
- Moon, Z. K. and Farmer, F.L. 2007. Demographic Change and Leadership Planning. Presentation to Cooperative Extension Leadership Training Program. Stuttgart, Arkansas.
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Progress 08/15/06 to 08/14/07
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The purpose of the one year project was to provide insight into the structure and dynamics of Hispanic migration into rural areas of the United States. This objective was met. Data was obtained from the Mexican Migration Project (MMP) published by Princeton University. This longitudinal study began in 1982 but includes information from much earlier. Standard exploratory data techniques were performed, following which a series of analytical models were designed around the primary research question of the project. These analyses were conducted for a time frame beginning in 1965 and extending until 2005 (last available year of data), utilizing several different statistical techniques (logistic, probit, canonical correlation, and general estimating equations). Data dictionaries, analytic models, data tables, and code for performing all processing and analytical steps have been created and archived. Results of analyses have been reported through professional meetings, Cooperative
Exension service meetings, and to the general public, policy makers, and community practitioners.
PARTICIPANTS: Frank L Farmer, Zola K. Moon.
TARGET AUDIENCES: There are two primary audiences for the project: the national rural development academic community and the state level staff and leadership within the Cooperative Extension Service. The efforts include presentations at national and state level meetings and the development of both national level and state-level publications that provide information concerning the characteristics and needs of the Hispanic in-migrants.
PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: None.
Impacts
The outcomes of the research have had two major impacts. The first is generation of several publications for academic researchers as well as practitioners (see below) and presentation to general public and practitioners. The knowledge gained through the research has spurred development of other, related projects built on the insights provided by the outcomes of this research, including designing research projects to further elucidate linkage between small scale agriculture, Mexican migration, and rural communities; entrepreneurial capacity of recently arrived migrants in rural areas; further elucidation of continued impact on community development for nonmetropolitan counties experiencing rapid growth in Hispanic populations; and analysis of rural residential spatial patterning of rapidly growing Hispanic populations including segregation and inequality indices.
Publications
- Farmer, F.L. and Moon, Z.K. 2007. An Empirical Examination of the Social and Geographic Antecedents of Mexican Migration to the Southern U.S. Southern Rural Sociology under review. Farmer, F.L and Moon, Z.K. 2007. The Rural Disadvantage and Characteristics of Mexican Migrants. Rural Sociology (Revise and Resubmit). Farmer, F.L and Moon, Z.K. 2007. The Rural Disadvantage and Characteristics of Mexican Migrants. Poster presented at Social Change and Restructuring in Rural Societies: Opportunities and Vulnerabilities, 2007 Rural Sociological Society Annual Meeting, Santa Clara, CA, August 20, 2007. Farmer, F.L, Moon, Z.K., and Miller, W. 2007. Growth and Change in Arkansas Hispanic Populations, University of Arkansas Extension publication No. MP470. Farmer, F.L and Moon, Z.K. 2007.
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