The state and regional development: A case study of the Appalachian Regional Commission

This dissertation examines the state's role in addressing uneven development through conducting a case study of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). As the most significant attempt by the U.S. federal government to address development issues in a particular region, the ARC offers an especially instructive context for examining development efforts, especially in a primarily rural region. Framed in the context of regional development and implementation theories, this research utilizes a rigorous case study methodological approach to examine the origin of the ARC and its policies; ARC policy implementation; and the evolution of ARC policy over time. This dissertation seeks to understand the issues that affected ARC efforts to implement policy. The ARC's experience provides an opportunity to explore in depth the process of development policy implementation, an issue that has theoretical underpinnings but little empirical verification. The results of this analysis suggest that regional development theories and policies that fail to account for the mutually constituted political, economic, and ideological contexts and constraints that shape state-related development activities will similarly fail to appreciate the capacity of the state to involve itself in development policy implementation.