College Graduates, Local Retailers, and Community Belonging in the United States
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2014
Publication Source
Sociological Spectrum
Volume Number
34
Issue Number
2
First Page
143
Last Page
162
Publisher
Taylor & Francis, Inc.
ISSN
0273-2173
Abstract
How do communities retain their highly educated residents? Do local retailers play a role? This study addresses these questions using confidential U.S. census data on locally-oriented retail employment and county-level public-use files. Hierarchical linear modeling is employed to test hypotheses derived from prior research on civic community and migration. The results confirm that state-level local retail employment buffers the extent to which county-level college graduation is associated with county nonmigration. This finding is consistent with civic community theory, suggesting that locally-oriented retailers are a valuable resource for promoting residential stability.
Keywords
Wal-mart, Civic Engagement, Interstate Migration, Spatial Association, Economic-growth, Business, Religion, Congregations, Consequences, Determinants
Recommended Citation
Stroope, Samuel, Aaron B. Franzen, Charles M. Tolbert, and F. Carson Mencken. “College Graduates, Local Retailers, and Community Belonging in the United States.” Sociological Spectrum 34, no. 2 (2014): 143–62. doi:10.1080/02732173.2014.878612.
