The papers in this volume are concerned with rural development, with emphasis on the problems of low-income groups. Stephen McDonald explores economic factors in farm outmigration. Virgil Christian, Jr. and Adamantios Pepelasis discuss the extent and importance of economies of size in agriculture. Thomas Till analyzes the nature and extent of nonmetropolitan industrialization, especially in the South. In his analysis of economic growth, poverty, and race in the nonmetropolitan Deep South, James Walker makes it clear that poverty in the U.S. is disproportionately a nonmetropolitan Southern phenomenon. Niles Hansen defines the growth center concept, evaluates the experiences of the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Economic Development Administration, and concludes with a defense of a human resource development and growth center strategy. Ray Marshall summarizes the issues and concludes that economic development depends heavily on the quality of human resource development; public policy should make it possible for those who elect to remain in rural areas to develop themselves to the point where they can at least earn enough to elevate themselves out of poverty. Marshall suggests that the kinds of activities likely to promote rural human resource development should include improvements in the quality and quantity of rural education (especially vocational-technical education) to prepare people for nonfarm as well as farm jobs. (BR)