Resilient Appalachia

The Center for Social Innovation has partnered with the Economic Development Boards of Northeast Tennessee and Cambria and Somerset Counties in Pennsylvania to work on small scale relocation incentive programs for the Appalachia region. The Center has studied how the program alters the marginal dollar impact on a person’s propensity to relocate, baseline factors that predict response to a grant, and the long-term direct and indirect benefits from attracting new households into the area through these grants.

Introducing an increased flow of human capital into the Appalachia region may help stimulate development, yet there is little incentive for people to migrate because of fewer economic opportunities in the region. Municipalities in Appalachia have offered grants for households who rely on remote work to relocate to the Appalachia to attract workers. The Center is working to understand the affects of these grants by surveying households to evaluate their propensity to move to Appalachia. The aim of this work is to inform policymakers of the benefits of this campaign in sustainable economic development.