Great article by @emilymbadger at @nytimes on West Virginia's economic challenges. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/08/upshot/west-virginia-manchin-stimulus.html

As article details, WVa faces challenges due to declining economic base, which is exacerbated because this declining base means the area lacks sufficient tax resources & philanthropic resources to allow needed investments for redevelopment.

So part of the problem are inherent problem of losing your economic base. Part are some issues of disadvantages of small scale in rural areas. But other part is simply lack of resources. And that LAST problem can be solved -- not necessarily by state on own, but w/ outside help.

And state does have assets. Article mentions natural amenities, residents who want to stay. One could add that state also has colleges, & also that state's regions vary greatly in proximity to at least smaller metro centers. For other regions, maybe remote work will help.

For some other research I've been doing, I've been looking at spatial inequality WITHIN states. WVa actually has 16 different "commuting zones", which are multi-county areas w/i which most commuting flows are contained. Why so many? Probably because of transport difficulties.

These commuting zones are probably best definition of local labor markets. If we are to increase employment rates & wages in WVa, we will have to come up with solutions for each of these 16 CZs. The state is not one labor market.

In most recent period (2015-2019) for which we have comprehensive local data, WVa's average employment rate for "prime-age" workers (ages 25-54) was 69.6%, vs. 78.4% in U.S. But this varied from 52.7% to 78.6% across its 16 CZs.

Under definitions used for my block grant proposal for distressed areas, 12 of WV's CZs, w/ 83% of state pop, are "most distressed": > 5 points below nat avg in prime-age Emp/Pop. 3 CZs, w/ 6% of pop, are "somewhat distressed": 1 to 5% below nat avg. https://research.upjohn.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1023&context=up_policypapers

1 WVa CZ, w/ 11% of state pop, is above nat avg Emp/Pop: easternmost 3 counties in state (Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan), which have links to DC Metro area.

As @emilymbadger says in article, these are problems that require LONG-TERM solutions, which address MULTIPLE problems. And, I would add, the precise problems that are the greatest priority -- and the strengths that can be built on--vary greatly across the 16 different WVa CZs.

From end of article: “We have generational problems,” said Mr. Dennison, the head of Coalfield Development. “And they’re not going to be solved in one appropriations cycle, or even two or three.”

earlier "[State] residents... dream of broadband, .. brownfield cleanup efforts, aid to community lenders..., more resources for high-quality housing and health clinics — investment on a scale [to] return to the region ... the wealth ... taken out...by resource extraction."

& this brings up issue of scale. I have argued that econ dev. can be most efficiently promoted by public services that promote job creation. But even this costs $50K per job. To significantly raise Emp/Pop rates that are 5 or 10 pts below nat avg requires lots of $ for many yrs.

So, for most distressed CZs, my proposal would be to provide fed block grant of about $231 per cap annually for 10 years. This is close to what TVA did. 83% of WVa. pop would be eligible for aid at this scale.

Another 6% of state pop would be in CZs eligible for avg of $60 per cap, close to peak funding of Appalachian Regional Commission.

Although these targeted programs would be of scale sufficient to significantly lower Emp/Pop disparities, their geographic targeting means that overall national cost is modest. Total national price tax is about $19 billion/year. https://research.upjohn.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1023&context=up_policypapers

A tweaked version of my proposal is part of package from @RepDerekKilmer & @NewDemCoalition. This may interest @Sen_JoeManchin & others in WVa, as most of state is targeted for high levels of LONG-TERM, & FLEXIBLE job creation dollars. https://newdemocratcoalition.house.gov/imo/media/doc/NDC%20COVID%20Relief%20&%20Stimulus%20Priorities_012721%20(for%20release).pdf