Author Addresses Rural Economic Development

Michael Shuman, author of “The Small-Mart Revolution,” spent an hour with the U.S. Endowment’s Board and staff in Denver in late May. Not the “big box bashing” that some expected, Mr. Shuman high-lighted findings from his recently published book including targeted discussion on why local ownership matters. He suggested that the Endowment work in communities that lost their infrastructure/industry 15 to 20 years ago or work in areas that are on the edge of losing it. He urged that the Endowment consider that the answer in stimulating a rural revival is to be found in young people and that those wishing to help communities must identify the public policy obstacles that stand in the way of economic development.