Stephen Clowney (University of Arkansas), Do Rural Places Matter?, Conn. L. Rev. (forthcoming 2024):
Rural communities are at a crossroads. On one hand, small towns continue to receive robust support from the federal government. Congress sends billions of dollars in agricultural supports, homeownership subsidies, and infrastructure spending to rural places every year. Yet, despite ongoing federal investment, conditions in rural America have deteriorated. Economic growth, educational opportunities, and health outcomes in rural places all lag behind the rest of the country.