RURAL POPULATION LOSS AND CROPLAND CHANGE IN THE SOUTHERN PLAINS: IMPLICATIONS FOR CROPLAND RETIREMENT POLICY∗

Given steadily increasing federal expenditures to manage surplus crop production, it would seem to make economic and environmental sense to concentrate production on the best acreage and to retire marginal crop acreage to alternate uses. A major obstacle constraining adoption and implementation of cropland retirement programs in the past has been the fear that cropland retirement threatens the viability of rural communities. Regression of change in population and retail establishments on changes in farm structure, nonfarm employment, and agricultural land-use in the rural Southern Plains between 1930 and 1970 provides only weak evidence to support this fear. In fact, short-term cropland idling under post-1960 price-support programs appears to pose more of a threat to rural communities than does cropland retirement.     

人口政策变动下曲靖市人口发展趋势分析

人口生育政策变化会对区域未来人口发展产生直接影响,“全面二孩”政策是继“单独二孩”政策之后逐步放宽生育政策的又一重大举措。结合政策变动,筛选政策受众人群进行精准化预测:未来15年,曲靖市20~39岁育龄妇女将净减少3.7万人,其中符合“全面二孩”生育政策且在20~39岁育龄妇女人口规模将缩减近0.7万;结合“全面二孩”政策最终兑现人口的测算,从2016年至2020年间会产生一个“二孩”生育高峰期,过了高峰期之后将渐落并减少至2.23万,较高峰期缩减0.82万人。“全面二孩”政策进一步调整和完善了生育政策,但后期效果不明显,面对“后人口转变”时代的到来,低生育率、老龄化的人口发展新格局,要实现人口与社会经济的协调发展,仍需与时俱进做出入口政策相应调整。     

RURAL REGIONAL GOVERNANCE IN THE UNITED STATES: THE CASE OF THE RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM*

Rural governance has drawn considerable attention from both local government officials and scholars in the United States since the early 1990s. It is touted as a way to mitigate the limitations of the traditional government unit‐based approaches to problem solving and decision making and to foster partnerships across both jurisdictional boundaries and sectors (public, private, and nonprofit). Established in 1962, the Resource Conservation and Development (rc&d ) program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides a unique model of rural regional governance. Acting as a coalition of governments, private businesses, individuals, and interest groups, the rc&d program provides the flexibility needed to deal with issues at the appropriate spatial scale. It incorporates aspects of both grassroots and governmental organizations and can bring together local interests and expertise with governmental policy and support in service provision, problem solving, and economic development. The approach does not necessarily entail loss of power on the part of the state, but it does provide a mechanism for local people to exercise their agency, to tackle their problems, and to decide which elements of their lives they want to sustain.     

HUMAN RELATIONS AND PRIMARY HEALTH CARE DELIVERY IN RURAL NEPAL: THE CASE OF DEURALI *

A preliminary analysis of the primary health care delivery component of a small rural development project in Deurali, Nepal, suggests that personal relations between project personnel and their target population (e.g., implementors'sincerity and commitment to service) can overcome many cultural, geographical, and class-related social barriers to achieving project objectives. The Deurali medical staff's ability to combine their technical skills with sincerity, hard work, and commitment has made the Deurali project reasonably successful in meeting villagers'primary health care needs.