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An Analysis Of The Role Of Self-Employment In The Economic Development Of The Rural Northeastern United States, Saima Bashir, Tesfa Gebremedhin, Jerald J. Fletcher

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

Generating employment and alleviating poverty are the biggest challenges for regional economic growth in rural areas of the Northeastern United States. Despite the revival of the economy in much of the nation‟s heartland, rural areas are still suffering from high poverty and unemployment rates. Self-employment, a measure of entrepreneurship, indicates an opportunity for rural communities to improve quality of life and accelerate regional economic development. Taking into consideration the problem of unemployment in rural communities, there is a need to focus on generating self-employment opportunities at micro level to enhance economic growth and reduce the per capita income „gap‟ between …