ABSTRACT
Policies designed to affect the people and organizations of rural America are difficult to specify. The social science research community is interested in and capable of making significant substantive contributions to the analysis of policy and contributing to a better understanding of the institutional framework within which policy is formulated and implemented. Differential growth in the rural population and in the economy of the late 1960s and the 1970s has created new conditions, problems, and opportunities in rural areas. Rural places are characterized by small size and scale, including small communities, small governments, and small institutions such as schools and health care units. The great diversity of rural areas and interests has frustrated attempts to build a rural constituency that effectively represents all rural people. The data base for rural areas is inadequate for determining policy and programs. Some basic and persistent problems affecting both rural and urban areas thwart efforts to achieve development in the American federal system.
