first Century Deindustrialization and Uneven Development in Appalachia

215 Pages·2017·2.72 MB·English

UUnniivveerrssiittyy ooff TTeennnneesssseeee,, KKnnooxxvviillllee
TTRRAACCEE:: TTeennnneesssseeee RReesseeaarrcchh aanndd CCrreeaattiivvee
EExxcchhaannggee
Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School
12-2017
TTwweennttyy--‐fifirrsstt CCeennttuurryy DDeeiinndduussttrriiaalliizzaattiioonn aanndd UUnneevveenn
DDeevveellooppmmeenntt iinn AAppppaallaacchhiiaa
Katherine Custis Gerlaugh
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, [email protected]
Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss
Part of the Regional Sociology Commons, Rural Sociology Commons, and the Tourism Commons
RReeccoommmmeennddeedd CCiittaattiioonn
Gerlaugh, Katherine Custis, "Twenty-‐first Century Deindustrialization and Uneven Development in
Appalachia. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2017.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/4743
This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee
Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized
administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact
[email protected].
To the Graduate Council:
I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Katherine Custis Gerlaugh entitled "Twenty--
‐first Century Deindustrialization and Uneven Development in Appalachia." I have examined the
final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be
accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a
major in Sociology.
Stephanie A. Bohon, Major Professor
We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance:
Paul K. Gellert, Michelle M. Christian, Nicholas N. Nagle
Accepted for the Council:
Dixie L. Thompson
Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School
(Original signatures are on file with official student records.)
Twenty-­‐first
 Century
 Deindustrialization
 and
 Uneven
 Development
 in
 Appalachia

A
 Dissertation
 Presented
 for
 the

Doctor
 of
 Philosophy

Degree

The
 University
 of
 Tennessee,
 Knoxville

Katherine
 Custis
 Gerlaugh

December
 2017
Copyright
 ©
 2017
 by
 Katherine
 Custis
 Gerlaugh

All
 rights
 reserved

ii
Dedication

To
 my
 daughter

Zoe
 Lee
 Hull

iii
Acknowledgements

  This
 project
 would
 not
 have
 been
 possible
 without
 the
 support
 and
 guidance
 of

my
 Committee
 Chair
 and
 Advisor,
 Dr.
 Stephanie
 Bohon.

 Dr.
 Bohon
 has
 been
 an

invaluable
 source
 of
 support
 and
 encouragement
 since
 my
 first
 year
 as
 a
 PhD
 student

and
 I
 could
 not
 have
 asked
 for
 a
 more
 committed
 and
 supportive
 Chair.
 Thank
 you
 for

everything,
 Stephanie.

 I
 also
 owe
 my
 sincerest
 thanks
 to
 Dr.
 James
 Maples.
 This
 project

was
 inspired
 by
 the
 research
 in
 which
 he
 invited
 me
 to
 take
 part,
 and
 I
 am
 looking

forward
 to
 continuing
 our
 work
 together.

 Thank
 you
 to
 Dr.
 Paul
 Gellert,
 Dr.
 Michelle

Christian,
 and
 Dr.
 Nicholas
 Nagle
 for
 serving
 on
 my
 committee
 and
 providing
 invaluable

feedback.

 I
 would
 also
 like
 to
 thank
 Dr.
 Jon
 Shefner
 and
 Dr.
 Sherry
 Cable
 for
 their

continuous
 support
 and
 encouragement.
 I
 also
 want
 to
 thank
 the
 late
 Suzanne
 Kurth
 for

all
 her
 help
 and
 guidance
 during
 my
 time
 in
 the
 department.

 Thanks
 also
 to
 Holly

Ningard,
 Chris
 Bradley,
 Lauren
 Caggiano,
 and
 Nicole
 Harris
 for
 their
 friendship
 and

support
 as
 I
 worked
 to
 complete
 this
 project.
 And
 thank
 you
 to
 Zoe
 Lee
 Hull
 for
 her

supportive
 and
 positive
 attitude
 throughout
 this
 process.

iv
Abstract

The
 causes
 and
 consequences
 of
 deindustrialization
 in
 the
 United
 States
 are

myriad
 and
 have
 created
 a
 dire
 situation
 for
 millions
 of
 working
 class
 people
 as
 blue-­‐
collar
 jobs
 have
 mostly
 vanished.

 This
 reality
 has
 been
 particularly
 hard
 in
 places
 like

Appalachia,
 where
 manufacturing
 and
 extraction
 were
 the
 largest,
 and
 often
 only,

employers
 for
 most
 of
 the
 20th
 Century.

 Especially
 for
 rural
 areas
 with
 little
 appeal
 for

new
 markets,
 tourism
 often
 appears
 to
 be
 one
 way
 to
 attract
 people
 to
 the
 area
 to

spend
 money,
 but
 it
 is
 unclear
 whether
 or
 not
 this
 strategy
 is
 helpful
 to
 local
 economies.

In
 this
 study,
 I
 use
 three
 different
 levels
 of
 data
 to
 better
 understand
 the
 effects
 of

uneven
 development
 in
 and
 across
 Appalachia
 and
 to
 interrogate
 the
 effects
 of

deindustrialization
 and
 the
 rise
 of
 leisure
 and
 retail
 in
 the
 early
 21st
 Century.

 First,
 I

analyze
 county
 level
 data
 to
 consider
 differences
 in
 industry
 pay
 and
 employment
 in

three
 Appalachian
 subregions,
 at
 three
 different
 county
 population
 levels,
 at
 three

points
 in
 time.

 Next,
 I
 analyze
 individual
 level
 data
 to
 see
 if
 new
 residents
 to
 Appalachia

have
 higher
 economic
 and
 occupational
 statuses
 than
 residents
 who
 moved
 within
 the

region
 in
 the
 same
 time
 period
 while
 also
 considering
 economic
 differences
 by

subregion.

 Finally,
 I
 analyzed
 individual
 survey
 data
 from
 rock
 climbers
 at
 the
 Red
 River

Gorge
 to
 find
 out
 whether
 they
 spend
 money
 during
 their
 visits.

 Overall,
 I
 found
 that

subregional
 differences
 associated
 with
 differences
 in
 rural
 and
 urban
 county

concentrations
 within
 the
 Appalachian
 region
 were
 starker
 than
 the
 differences

between
 the
 region
 as
 a
 whole
 versus
 the
 rest
 of
 the
 United
 States.

 I
 suggest
 that

recreational
 tourism,
 though
 fine,
 is
 not
 an
 economic
 solution
 to
 the
 problems
 of

Eastern
 Kentucky,
 but
 that
 rather
 support
 for
 innovative
 development
 strategies
 in

those
 towns
 that
 investing
 in
 infrastructure
 may
 be
 the
 only
 way
 to
 help
 alleviate
 the

long
 history
 of
 uneven
 development
 in
 the
 region.

v
Table
 of
 Contents

Chapter
 1:
 Introduction
 ·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙
 1

Chapter
 2:
 Theories
 of
 Appalachia
 and
 Uneven
 Development
 ·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙
 12

Chapter
 3:
 The
 Political
 Economy
 of
 Appalachia:
 Exploitation,
 Uneven

  Development,
 and
 the
 Effects
 of
 Poverty
 in
 Rural
 Appalachia
 ·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙
 35

Chapter
 4:
 Methodology
 ·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙
 54

Chapter
 5:
 Industry
 Payroll
 and
 Employment
 Across
 Appalachia

 ·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙

 77

Chapter
 6:
 Appalachian
 Residence
 and
 Economic
 Attainment

 ·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙
 113

Chapter
 7:
 Economic
 Impact
 of
 Rock
 Climbers
 in
 the
 Red
 River
 Gorge
 ·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙
 130

Chapter
 8:
 Conclusion
 ·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙
 157

Bibliography
 ·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙
 179

Appendix
 ·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙
 196

Vita
 ·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙
 204

vi
List
 of
 Tables

Table
 6.1:
 Descriptive
 statistics:
 Means
 and
 standards
 deviation
 ·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙
 115

Table
 6.2:
 Logistic
 regression
 coefficients
 and
 odds
 rations
 predicting
 movers’
 odds
 of

being
 poor
 ·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙
 119

Table
 6.3:
 Unstandardized
 OLS
 coefficients
 predicting
 movers’
 total
 family
 income
 ·∙
 121

Table
 6.4:
 Logistic
 regression
 coefficients
 and
 odds
 ratios
 predicting
 movers’
 odds
 of

self-­‐employment
 ·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙
 123

Table
 6.5:
 Unstandardized
 OLS
 coefficients
 predicting
 movers’
 occupational

attainment
 ·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙
 124

Table
 7.1:
 Descriptive
 statistics:
 Means
 and
 standard
 deviations
 ·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙
 132

Table
 7.2:
 Unstandardized
 OLS
 coefficients
 predicting
 the
 effects
 of
 Kentucky

residence
 on
 spending
 in
 the
 Red
 River
 Gorge
 ·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙
 136

Table
 7.3:
 Unstandardized
 OLS
 coefficients
 predicting
 the
 effects
 of
 Appalachia

residence
 on
 spending
 in
 the
 Red
 River
 Gorge
 ·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙
 141

Table
 7.4:
 Poisson
 coefficients
 and
 IRRS
 predicting
 the
 effects
 of
 Kentucky

residence
 on
 number
 of
 cost
 activities
 in
 the
 Red
 River
 Gorge
 ·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙
 143

Table
 7.5:
 Poisson
 coefficients
 and
 IRRS
 predicting
 the
 effects
 of
 Appalachia
 residence

on
 number
 of
 cost
 activities
 in
 the
 Red
 River
 Gorge
 ·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙
 145

Table
 7.6:
 Logistic
 regression
 coefficients
 and
 odds
 ratios
 predicting
 the
 effects
 of

Kentucky
 residence
 on
 relying
 on
 external
 food
 sources
 in
 the
 Red
 River

Gorge
 ·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙
 147

vii
Table
 7.7:
 Logistic
 regression
 coefficients
 and
 odds
 ratios
 predicting
 the
 effects
 of

Kentucky
 residence
 on
 relying
 on
 external
 food
 sources
 in
 the
 Red
 River

Gorge
 ·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙·∙
 149

viii