This study employs input–output (I/O) modeling at the state and county level to compare national estimates of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The results show that more localized economies cannot achieve the results predicted by national models likely because of leakage of economic activity outside the boundaries of a single state or county. This study sheds light on methodological tools that forecasters and policy makers can use in making decisions based on economic impact of social safety net programs.

This paper describes the economic and social challenges faced by Enfield, a small town in rural northeastern North Carolina, and the efforts by the Center for Competitive Economies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to assist the community in a strategic economic development plan to address these challenges. In particular, the paper outlines the challenges and tensions between place-based versus people-based economic development approaches and how these tensions are generalizeable to other rural small towns. Lastly, the paper concludes that even the most effective economic development strategies may only impact the community marginally given the larger confluence of events in the broader region, such as general population loss due to outmigration, declining traditional industries, and stagnant regional economies.

This article discusses one method for converting retail trade gap data into estimates of retail real estate development capacity using both public and proprietary data sources. This information is useful to Extension agents and economic development professionals interested in downtown redevelopment and targeted retail business recruitment.

Utilizing four counties in western North Carolina as a study area, this paper examines the existence of a critical mass threshold in agricultural production below which crucial support services could be expected to close down or relocate outside the region. Twenty-two key stakeholder interviews suggest that for most support service businesses, no such critical mass threshold exists at the regional level. For those support service types most at-risk, an IMPLAN model was utilized to determine the economic impact to the region.