Project Number: WVA00392
CRIS Number: 0175269
HIGHER EDUCATION IN RURAL AND COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: THE CASE OF WEST VIRGINIA
Investigators: Gebremedhin, T. G., Odell, K. S.
Performing Department: Resource Management -- 8485
Start Date: 05/01/1997
Termination Date: 04/30/2002
Reporting period: 05/01/1997 to 04/30/2002
Termination Report:
An extensive literature review was undertaken to establish a strong theoretical foundation. Appropriate descriptive statistics and an econometric model are developed for empirical analysis. A multinomial logit was the primary econometric model used to examine the importance of West Virginia's higher education institutions as a source of skilled employees for the state's private sector. The survey statistics established strong relationship between businesses and local colleges/universities in the form of recruiting and retaining employees in the state of West Virginia. The study confirmed that the analysis of descriptive statistics and empirical results have numerous applications in decision making and policy programs. Based on the results of this survey study, employer's utilizing formal college graduate recruitment techniques are, on average, more significantly related to a larger local labor market, larger establishment size, and the number of employees holding a 4-year college degree. In addition, the number of workers brought into a region to take employment and the proportion of employees with college degrees are the only coefficients significant to the probability of predicting that a firm chooses formal or informal recruitment methods. Interestingly enough, however, firms with a greater number of employees holding a college degree are less likely to choose informal college graduate recruitment over no recruitment. From the empirical results, it is observed that employers formally recruiting college graduates have a high percentage of employees with at least a 4-year degree. However, formal recruitment of college graduates is most likely affected by the size of the establishment, population of the surrounding region, and the percentage of workers coming from outside the region. Proximity to a college or university and the number of years at the firm's current location were insignificant in both logit equations. The growth of non-traditional recruiting tools, such as the internet, that reach a very wide net of potential recruits have improved many employers' chances of locating suitable prospects. In addition, the empirical results provided no conclusive evidence that a firm's social network, measured by years at the current location, affected the probability that a firm will choose formal on-campus recruitment activities or informal off-campus activities over no recruitment of college graduates.
Publications:
Lego, B. 2001. "Formal and Informal Recruitment of College Graduates: Implications for Economic Growth and Policy in West Virginia." M.S. Thesis, Agricultural and Resource Economics, West Virginia University, December 2001.
Lego, B., T. Gebremedhin and K. Odell. 2001. "A Survey Analysis of the Role of Institutions of Higher Education in Employee Recruitment in West Virginia." A Working Paper #2001-4, Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University, 2001.
Lego, B., T. Gebremedhin and K. Odell. 2001. "Formal and Informal Recruitment of College Graduates: Policy Implications in West Virginia." Submitted for publication in the Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics Review, 2001.
Impact:
Recruiting college graduates from colleges and universities in rural areas prevents leakage of tax dollars spent on higher education, allowing regions to realize a return on their investments in education. The availability of an educated labor supply can increase the productivity of the local economy, thereby expanding the potential prospects for future economic development. Businesses engaged in recruitment of labor from colleges and universities may reduce future transaction costs in articulating the supply and demand for highly skilled, well-trained and educated labor force. With increased access to information and use of improved recruitment methods, the graduates from West Virginia's colleges and universities will play a more vital role in the transfer of new technologies, as well as more efficient production processes, new management techniques, and new ideas.