Focus group discussions were conducted in April 1997 in two rural North Dakota counties to examine whether the problem of inadequate or missing goods and services in those areas can be solved by using the cooperative business approach. An earlier study (Bhuyan, 1996a) has shown that many rural...

Many North Dakota communities find it financially difficult to provide or maintain such necessary services as public safety, water and sewer services, garbage disposal, grocery and retail stores, local credit, medical care and similar other services due to gradual decline in both population and...

Trade analysis of retail and service sectors allows economic development practioners to evaluate the performance of these sectors in their respective communities. Estimation of market potential identifies specific business categories (e.g., computer stores) that have potential for further...

A wide variety of cooperatives outside the agricultural sector have been playing an important role in the nation's rural and urban areas by providing housing for the elderly and poor, affordable health care, child care, and education. These firms may constitute both business models that reduce...