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Making Ends Meet in Making Ends Meet in the Rural Wabash the Rural Wabash Valley Valley Wabash Valley Wabash Valley Quality of Life Survey Quality of Life Survey 2005 2005

Making Ends Meet in the Rural Wabash Valley Wabash Valley Quality of Life Survey 2005

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Page 1: Making Ends Meet in the Rural Wabash Valley Wabash Valley Quality of Life Survey 2005

Making Ends Meet in the Making Ends Meet in the Rural Wabash ValleyRural Wabash Valley

Wabash ValleyWabash Valley

Quality of Life SurveyQuality of Life Survey

20052005

Page 2: Making Ends Meet in the Rural Wabash Valley Wabash Valley Quality of Life Survey 2005

Brought to you by…Brought to you by…

The Sociology Research LabThe Sociology Research Lab The students of Soc 380 & PSCI 245The students of Soc 380 & PSCI 245 James Cassell & Tom Steiger, James Cassell & Tom Steiger,

Department of SociologyDepartment of Sociology

Page 3: Making Ends Meet in the Rural Wabash Valley Wabash Valley Quality of Life Survey 2005

The SampleThe Sample

We randomly sampled 1,353 households We randomly sampled 1,353 households from the six counties surrounding Terre from the six counties surrounding Terre HauteHaute Clay, Park, Sullivan, Vermillion & Vigo counties in Clay, Park, Sullivan, Vermillion & Vigo counties in

IndianaIndiana Clark & Edgar counties in IllinoisClark & Edgar counties in Illinois

Calls were made between 5 & 9 PM, Sunday Calls were made between 5 & 9 PM, Sunday through Thursday from February 14through Thursday from February 14thth through March 10through March 10thth

482 interviews were completed for a 36% 482 interviews were completed for a 36% response rateresponse rate

Margin of error: Margin of error: ± 4%± 4%

Page 4: Making Ends Meet in the Rural Wabash Valley Wabash Valley Quality of Life Survey 2005

Focus on “Making Ends Focus on “Making Ends Meet”Meet”

Our interview asks aboutOur interview asks about Regular paid employmentRegular paid employment Businesses run from homeBusinesses run from home Paid employment done at homePaid employment done at home ““Informal” economic activities done to save Informal” economic activities done to save

money, earn extra money, or in exchange money, earn extra money, or in exchange for something elsefor something else

Data refer to Data refer to householdshouseholds, not , not individualsindividuals

Page 5: Making Ends Meet in the Rural Wabash Valley Wabash Valley Quality of Life Survey 2005

Household Survival Household Survival StrategiesStrategies

Term for how people go about “making Term for how people go about “making ends meet”ends meet”

For most families, this mainly involves For most families, this mainly involves paid employment at a “regular” job and paid employment at a “regular” job and budgeting to live within that incomebudgeting to live within that income

Survival strategies become more Survival strategies become more complicated in areas which …complicated in areas which … Have lost jobs, orHave lost jobs, or Had few jobs to begin withHad few jobs to begin with

Page 6: Making Ends Meet in the Rural Wabash Valley Wabash Valley Quality of Life Survey 2005

We refer to this as sort of changes as We refer to this as sort of changes as economic economic restructuringrestructuring

Rural sociologists have found considerable Rural sociologists have found considerable economic restructuring in rural settings and small economic restructuring in rural settings and small townstowns

Result is often relatively fewer jobs in general & Result is often relatively fewer jobs in general & fewer well-paying jobs in particularfewer well-paying jobs in particular

Leading to more difficulty “making ends meet”Leading to more difficulty “making ends meet” One response is to move somewhere else with One response is to move somewhere else with

greater economic opportunity greater economic opportunity Question is how to those who stay “survive” in a Question is how to those who stay “survive” in a

more harsh economic climate more harsh economic climate

Page 7: Making Ends Meet in the Rural Wabash Valley Wabash Valley Quality of Life Survey 2005

Percentage; N=482Percentage; N=482

““Is your family better off or Is your family better off or worse off than a year ago?”worse off than a year ago?”

23

32

45

0 10 20 30 40 50

Don't Know

Worse Off

Better Off

Page 8: Making Ends Meet in the Rural Wabash Valley Wabash Valley Quality of Life Survey 2005

(Percentage; N=482)(Percentage; N=482)

Formal Economic ActivityFormal Economic Activity

21

15.8

7.3

76.1

0 20 40 60 80

None

Home Business

HomeEmployment

RegularEmployment

Page 9: Making Ends Meet in the Rural Wabash Valley Wabash Valley Quality of Life Survey 2005

Informal Economic ActivityInformal Economic Activity

Refers to things people do to save Refers to things people do to save money, earn extra money, or in money, earn extra money, or in exchange for something elseexchange for something else

Most will be untaxed or outside the Most will be untaxed or outside the “formal” economy“formal” economy

Expect that some activities will be Expect that some activities will be done mostly to save money while done mostly to save money while others will be done to earn moneyothers will be done to earn money

Page 10: Making Ends Meet in the Rural Wabash Valley Wabash Valley Quality of Life Survey 2005

We asked whether anyone in We asked whether anyone in household had done following in household had done following in

the past 12 monthsthe past 12 months Household repair or Household repair or

handiworkhandiwork Repair or service cars, Repair or service cars,

trucks, farm equipmenttrucks, farm equipment Sell Avon, Mary K, Sell Avon, Mary K,

Tupperware, etc.Tupperware, etc. Personal service (e.g. Personal service (e.g.

childcare, housework)childcare, housework) Raise farm animals for Raise farm animals for

foodfood Garden or sell fresh Garden or sell fresh

produceproduce

Can, freeze, or dry foodCan, freeze, or dry food Make hand craftsMake hand crafts Wood cutting (e.g. Wood cutting (e.g.

firewood)firewood) Have yard sales, flea Have yard sales, flea

markets, or sell item on markets, or sell item on the internetthe internet

Yard work or landscapingYard work or landscaping SewingSewing Bookkeeping or other Bookkeeping or other

financial workfinancial work Painting or wallpaperingPainting or wallpapering Some other activity Some other activity

Page 11: Making Ends Meet in the Rural Wabash Valley Wabash Valley Quality of Life Survey 2005

Percentage; N=482Percentage; N=482

Informal Economic ActivitiesInformal Economic Activities

12.1

11.8

8.9

9.5

19.1

23.9

10.8

8.5

24.1

15.4

5.4

9.5

5.4

17.8

26.3

Other

Painting

Bookkeeping

Sewing

Yard work

Yard Sales

Wood Cutting

Hand Crafts

Can Food

Garden

Farm Animals

Personal Service

Sell Avon

Service Cars

Handiwork

Page 12: Making Ends Meet in the Rural Wabash Valley Wabash Valley Quality of Life Survey 2005

Percentage; N=482Percentage; N=482

Number of Informal Economic Number of Informal Economic Activities Performed in Activities Performed in

HouseholdHousehold

34.2

19.3

16.6

10.4

19.5

0 10 20 30 40

None

1

2

3

4 or more

Page 13: Making Ends Meet in the Rural Wabash Valley Wabash Valley Quality of Life Survey 2005

Percentage; Respondent May Cite Percentage; Respondent May Cite More than One Reason; N variesMore than One Reason; N varies

Reasons for Doing Informal Reasons for Doing Informal Economic Activities Economic Activities

43.9

27.9

34.8

35.9

5.2

36.5

29.3

50

48.6

38.5

17.4

3.8

44.2

42.5

5.3

20.9

15.2

10.9

47.8

11.5

24.4

2.6

9.5

19.2

26.1

34.6

11.6

12.6

3.5

2.3

4.3

4.3

4.3

9.6

7.3

3.4

5.4

3.8

8.7

7.7

5.8

7.9

Painting

Bookkeeping

Sewing

Yard work

Yard Sales

Wood Cutting

Hand Crafts

Can Food

Garden

Farm Animals

Personal Service

Sell Avon

Service Cars

Handiwork

Save

Earn

Exchange

Page 14: Making Ends Meet in the Rural Wabash Valley Wabash Valley Quality of Life Survey 2005

Percentage; N=482Percentage; N=482

Government Benefit IncomeGovernment Benefit Income

9.5

2.1

31.3

2.5

32.8

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

UnemploymentCompensation

Workman'sCompensation

Social Security

TANF

Medicare /Medicaid

Page 15: Making Ends Meet in the Rural Wabash Valley Wabash Valley Quality of Life Survey 2005

Who Performs Informal Economic Who Performs Informal Economic ActivitiesActivities

Just under two thirds of our sample Just under two thirds of our sample performed some informal economic performed some informal economic activityactivity

Raises the question of why some Raises the question of why some household do while others don’thousehold do while others don’t

““Common sense” suggests thatCommon sense” suggests that Household who feel they are “worse off” will do Household who feel they are “worse off” will do

more informal activities than those who are more informal activities than those who are “better off”“better off”

Households with higher incomes will perform Households with higher incomes will perform fewer informal activities because they don’t fewer informal activities because they don’t need to save or make moneyneed to save or make money

Page 16: Making Ends Meet in the Rural Wabash Valley Wabash Valley Quality of Life Survey 2005

Common sense is wrongCommon sense is wrong(at least in our sample)(at least in our sample)

The percentage of “worse off” The percentage of “worse off” households who perform informal households who perform informal activities is about the same as “better activities is about the same as “better off” householdsoff” households

The percentage of “doers” is about equal The percentage of “doers” is about equal to “don’t doers” in each category of to “don’t doers” in each category of incomeincome

We suspect that some of these activities We suspect that some of these activities are part of rural culture or “way of life”are part of rural culture or “way of life”