Small Business and Rural Economic Growth

West Virginia is one of the nation's most rural states with high unemployment, deeply rooted poverty, low human capital formation, high out-migration, and a shrinking economic base. West Virginia has devoted efforts through national and local policy programs to induce economic prosperity, curtail out-migration of college graduates, and mitigate poverty. This book provides an in-depth analysis of the linkage between small business/entrepreneurship and rural economic growth, which is measured by employment opportunities and gross county product growth. Three separate cluster of counties of West Virginia are used as the study area. The analysis systematically integrates economic theory of regional growth and econometric modeling to develop recommendations for appropriate small business and entrepreneurship-centered development strategy for rural communities. A unique aspect of this book is that it identifies the potential for enhancing the small businesses and entrepreneurship as an effective rural economic development strategy for West Virginia.

Dr. Semoa Costa Batista De Sousa-Brown obtained a Ph.D. in Natural Resource Economics from West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA. Presently, she is a Study Abroad Program Coordinator at the OIP, West Virginia University. Dr. Tesfa G. Gebremedhin is a professor of Resource Management at West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV. USA.