Appalachian Legacy Economic Opportunity after the War on Poverty

In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson went to Kentucky's Martin County to declare war on poverty. The following year he signed the Appalachian Regional Development Act (ARDA), creating a state-federal partnership to improve the region's economic prospects through better job opportunities, greater human capital, and enhanced transportation. As the focal point of domestic antipoverty efforts, Appalachia took on special symbolic as well as economic importance. Nearly a half century later, what are the results?

In Appalachian Legacy, prominent economists and demographers map out the region's current status. James Ziliak spearheads the investigation into questions such as: How has Appalachia fared since 1965, and how does it now compare to the nation as a whole, in key areas such as education, employment, and health? Was ARDA an effective place-based policy for ameliorating hardship in a troubled region, or is Appalachia still mired in a poverty trap? And what lessons can we draw from the Appalachian experience?

This important research will help analysts, policymakers, scholars, and regional experts discern what works in fighting poverty and why. It is also an important contribution to the economic history of the eastern United States.

Contributors include: Dan A. Black (University of Chicago), Lisa A. Cimbaluk (Cornell University), Janet Currie (Columbia University), Steven N. Durlauf (University of Wisconsin), Mariesa Herrmann (Columbia), Daniel T. Lichter (Cornell), Seth G. Sanders (Duke University), and James P. Ziliak (University of Kentucky)