Doug Bowers and Richard Reeder Rural Conditions and Trends is published three times a year by USDA's Economic Research Service.
Annual subscriptions are available.
To order Rural Conditions and Trends , please visit the ERS-NASS Sales Desk . This issue was published in July 1997 by the Rural Economy Division. The main change for 1997 is welfare reform, which is expected to have a more significant impact in rural than in urban areas. The increase in the minimum wage and earned income tax credit should boost incomes of the working poor. Funding has increased for infrastructure, including a new assistance program for drinking water systems.