2017 Publications
Reform and Reaction: Education Policy in Kentucky
Investing in Rural Illinois: Promoting Economic, Workforce, Healthcare, and Educational Development
A Governor’s Executive Order requires that the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs (IIRA) at Western Illinois University (WIU) submit a report each year documenting the economic and social conditions affecting rural Illinois. The IIRA does this in collaboration with the Governor’s Rural Affairs Council (GRAC), chaired by the Lieutenant Governor. The 2017 report unfolds in four parts. Part one outlines the history of the GRAC. Part two summarizes major trends affecting rural communities in the State. Part three explains the formation and work of four working groups comprised of GRAC members. This section further outlines the policy priorities of each working group, and the efforts of each group to address these policy issues. Part four provides short vignettes documenting the achievements by GRAC members in promoting rural development in Illinois.
The American Customer Satisfaction Index suggests that citizens are dissatisfied with government services. Since one’s commitment to community (resident loyalty) depends on one’s evaluation whether it is a good place to live or not, it is essential that communities gauge resident satisfaction with their place of living. This paper constructs a county-level public service satisfaction index for non-metro Illinois. The satisfaction index is then employed to optimize public-service resource allocation. Results suggest that to maximize resident satisfaction, counties should spend 41% of their budgets on education, 12% on public safety, and around 32% on health-related welfare.
Air Travel Demand in the Upper Midwest: Potential for Low-cost Carriers
Overall, around 0.53 billion long-distance trips are taken by the upper Midwest residents every year. Since economically successful regions are likely to use discount airlines or low cost carriers (LCCs) to move information and people securely, quickly, and efficiently we explore the upper-Midwest aviation market for room for LCC entry.
2016 Publications
Rural Illinois: Working Towards a Brighter Future
Each year, by Executive Order, the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs (IIRA) at Western Illinois University (WIU) is required to submit a report on the economic and social conditions of rural Illinois. The IIRA does this in consultation with the Governor’s Rural Affairs Council (GRAC), chaired by the Lieutenant Governor. The 2016 report unfolds in two parts. Part one outlines the history of the GRAC and summarizes four major trends affecting rural communities in the State. Part two explains the formation of four working groups comprised of GRAC members. This section further outlines the policy priorities of each working group, and the plans identified by each group to address these policy issues. The four main issues affecting rural communities described in this report include: population decline and aging, unemployment, wages and income, and workforce development.
Illinois Libraries Contribution to Community Economic Development:
Little has changed since 1979, a significant proportion of the population rarely or never uses libraries (Coker 1993; Choy 2011). In this age of smartphone access to resources, there is mounting pressure on librarians to demonstrate that the information services they provide are vital resources for community economic development. How can the contribution of public library services for community economic development be measured? This paper addresses this question using data from the US Census and the Public Libraries Survey.
Market for Wine in Illinois: A County-wise Analysis
This paper explores the feasibility of producing, and selling wine on the Internet in the state of Illinois. A key input for business planning is quantitative estimates of demand by product category, territory, and type of customer. In the following pages we construct an index of buying power (demand) for alcoholic beverages and utilize it to deduce marketing strategy for wine.