Roundup: June 6, 2025
A regular feature of our growing online journal, The Rural Review, these roundup posts collect notable recent research, analysis, and related rural news and commentary. Feel free to send suggestions for future collections to us here. And, more details on other opportunities to contribute to The Rural Review can be found here.
Recent Publications
CESifo recently published a working paper titled Rural Employment Evolutions by Elena Faieta, Zhexin Feng (both Economics, University of Essex, UK) and Michel Serafinelli (Economics, King’s College London, UK). The paper considers employment trends in over 800 rural regions across France, Germany, Italy, and the UK, highlighting differences in overall employment growth and providing insight into rural employment between 1970 and 2010.
Shivalika Madgulkar and Jampel Dell’Angelo (both Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam) published Who Grabs the Land? Unveiling the Role of Domestic Actors in the Global Land Rush in The Journal of Peasant Studies. The article investigates investor origin and its impact on large-scale land acquisitions processes, arguing that land grabbing should be understood beyond a simple foreign–domestic dichotomy.
In The Dignity of Nonworking Men, published in Rural Sociology, Sarah Halpern-Meekin (Human Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison), Seungmi L. Cho (Social Work, University of Vermont), Grace Landrum (Social Work, University of Wisconsin-Madison), and Adam Talkington (Further & Further Research Agency) explore why some rural men seek employment outside the formal labor market as a means of reclaiming dignity, recognition, and meaningful work.
News & Commentary
An article in The New Lede warns of the risks of greenwashing associated with the popular notion of “regenerative” agriculture, a practice aimed at mitigating climate change, reducing water pollution, and improving ecosystem health. But regenerative agriculture, positioned as an alternative to organic farming, still allows for the use of potentially harmful pesticides.
NPR published a story highlighting the plight of several rural communities that were awarded FEMA grants to fix long-standing infrastructure problems that have since been canceled by the Trump administration. The article notes that federal funding is often the only resource large enough to undertake projects of this scale.
The Associated Press reported on how the recent trade instability in the US is posing challenges for California almond growers—the world’s largest producers of almonds. With more than three-quarters of the state’s almond crop exported, tariffs could have ripple effects across the broader California economy.
The Daily Yonder published a story on the popularity of Sears kit homes in the Midwest, noting that between 1908 and 1942, rural residents ordered roughly 70,000 customizable home kits from the company’s Modern Home catalog. Today, more than 18,668 Sears kit homes have been identified across the country, with more likely to be discovered.
Events & Recordings
Registration is now open for the Rural Assembly Everywhere virtual gathering on September 17, 2025. This year’s theme explores how to cultivate abundance in times of scarcity. Everywhere 2025 will provide a platform for rural people to share ideas, raise awareness of rural issues, and empower one another to strengthen their communities—challenging the scarcity mindset through collaboration in unprecedented times.
The Hoover Institution’s Center for Revitalizing American Institutions recently hosted “More Than Red vs. Blue: Stories, Struggles, and Strengths in Rural America,” part of its ongoing webinar series on reimagining American institutions. The event featured Nicholas Jacobs, professor of government at Colby College, on about the importance of understanding rural life on its own terms, and Jonathan Rodden, professor of political science at Stanford University. A recording is available here.
Finally, please check out our Call for Proposals for this year’s Law & Rurality Workshop, which will be held online on November 14, 2025, and co-hosted with the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law. The workshop welcomes scholars of all levels and disciplines whose work engages with law and its relation to rural people and places. Join us!
