SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS OF AGRICULTURAL AND NON-AGRICULTURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN NORTH DAKOTA

This project built upon a previous study that analyzed the socioeconomic impacts of agricultural processing plants in North Dakota. There is uncertainty on the economic and fiscal impacts in communities that have experienced non-agricultural economic development in North Dakota. A comparison of these two types of communities to selected control communities that have not experienced any major economic development project provided a basis for evaluating the impact of plant construction and operation on economic, demographic, public service, and fiscal structures of rural areas. Descriptive statistical analysis from the survey data and a factor analysis model were used to compare residents’ feelings on economic development in each of the three types of communities. Results indicate that there is a significant difference in how residents in the agricultural processing communities feel towards economic development versus the other two types of communities studied.