2024 NAREA Annual Meeting Post-Conference Workshop

Measuring and Enhancing Resilience of United States Rural Communities in the Context of Climate Variability

June 11 – 12, 2024   |    Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

Organizers: Laura Paul (USDA ERS, laura.paul@usda.gov) and Jonathan Malacarne (University of Maine, jonathan.malacarne@maine.edu)

Theme: Resilience describes the ability of an individual or community to anticipate, absorb, and recover from a negative shock. This workshop is motivated by the need to better understand the implications of increasing climate variability for the resilience of communities in the United States, acknowledging that implications can be either direct, such as the impacts of negative shock events on individuals and communities where they occur, or indirect, such as impacts on communities connected or adjacent to those experiencing shocks.

This workshop will bring together policy makers and researchers analyzing climate adaptation and mitigation of consequences for rural communities in the United States. The workshop focuses on (1) defining and measuring resilience, (2) anticipating and identifying the direct and indirect impacts of climate variability, and (3) contributing evidence towards policies to improve resilience.

Workshop Activities: The objectives of this workshop are (1) to identify research priorities and opportunities related to rural resilience and (2) to disseminate research related to the resilience of rural communities. Activities include:

• Networking opportunities to develop new collaborations across government and academic institutions
• Introductions to new and existing data products related to the measurement and implications of climate variability on rural communities in the US
• Idea generation and constructive feedback on new and existing research projects
• Round table discussions and keynote to disseminate the latest findings on measuring and enhancing rural resilience

Call for Submissions: We invite paper submissions that broadly address the following topics as they apply to rural communities in the United States (not an exhaustive list):

• Measuring resilience and adaptation in the context of climate variability
• Identifying community traits associated with vulnerability and resilience to natural hazards.
• Informing policy actions to improve resilience and adaptation
• Defining and measuring the economic impacts of climate risk and variability

• The above topics could be explored through the lens of (but not limited to): food security and access, environmental justice, managed retreat, broadband access, natural hazards preparedness, rural migration, and land use

Submissions must pertain to rural communities in the United States. All accepted draft manuscripts will be considered for a travel award to offset domestic travel costs to the NAREA Annual Meeting and Post Conference Workshop.

We encourage authors to also submit their draft manuscripts to be considered for inclusion in a workshop-themed special issue in Agricultural and Resource Economics Review with a target issue publication date of December 2024. All submissions will receive an expedited (30 day) review and be considered for a publication fee waiver. 

Workshop Papers: Submission Deadline February 10, 2024

Draft manuscripts should be submitted through NAREA’s Annual Meeting Submission System (http://www.cvent.com/c/abstracts/4ac2a6a4-958f-47d8-9225-3e2dbbf8bf8e). All accepted authors and recipients of travel awards must be NAREA members and registered for the workshop by April 10, 2024. Submissions must include:

• The title of the paper;
• Complete draft of the paper;
• Names and institutional affiliations of the author and all co-authors;
• Name and email address of the paper presenter;
• An abstract of no more than 500 words; and
• 1-3 topic areas.

To be considered for inclusion in a workshop-themed expedited review special issue in Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, final manuscripts must be uploaded through the journal manuscript central submission portal (https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/arer) by May 30, 2024.

Travel Awards for Early Career Scholars: Application Deadline February 10, 2024.

There are also limited funds available to provide travel awards for early career scholars (within 5 years of PhD) and graduate students who are interested in pursuing this field of research. Applications to be considered for an Early Career Scholar award to participate in the post conference workshop should be submitted through NAREA’s Annual Meeting Submission System (http://www.cvent.com/c/abstracts/a2d110dd-e575-4b5d-a846-135ffa3534ba). All recipients must be NAREA members and registered for the workshop by April 10, 2024. Applications must include:

• Name and email address of applicant
• Curriculum Vitae
• Statement of interest in workshop and relevance to field of study (no more than 1 page)