Article
Unraveling Appalachia's Rural Economy: The Case of a Flexible Manufacturing Network
Journal of Appalachian Studies
(2001)
Abstract
Many households and communities in rural Appalachia engage in diverse economic strategies that often are ignored in analyses of economic restructuring in the region (Gaventa, Smith, and Willingham 1990; Obermiller and Philliber 1994). This paper highlights the complex nature of rural economies and particularly informal
activities that intersect with kinship and community-based social networks. Different scales of economic activity are examined as shifts in global capital impact and are influenced by local strategies that include formal as well as informal activities. This analysis uses a case study of a network of home-based machine-knitters to illus-
trate these social and spatial dimensions of Appalachia' s rural economy.1
Disciplines
Publication Date
Spring 2001
Publisher Statement
Published as "Unraveling Appalachia's Rural Economy: The Case of a Flexible Manufacturing Network.” Journal of Appalachian Studies (2001) 7(1);19-45. © 2001 by the Appalachian Studies Association. Posted with permission.
Citation Information
Ann M. Oberhauser, Amy Pratt and Ann-Marie Turnage. "Unraveling Appalachia's Rural Economy: The Case of a Flexible Manufacturing Network" Journal of Appalachian Studies Vol. 7 Iss. 1 (2001) p. 19 - 45 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/ann-oberhauser/8/