The Three Locally Producible Factors Of Oconee Economic Development

Is the county of Oconee developing itself economically to sustain its continued growth despite the trend of young people leaving rural areas in search of jobs and greater availability of services existing in more metropolitan areas? Oconee County, South Carolina is “the land beside the water” located in the northwest corner of South Carolina. The county comprises the Seneca, SC Micropolitan Statistical Area and is South Carolina’s 18th most populous county out of 46 (South Carolina Counties by Population, 2014). The Cherokee Foothills National Scenic Highway begins in the southern part of the county and there is also interstate access to Interstate Highway 85 putting Oconee halfway between Atlanta and Charlotte. The Seneca, SC Micropolitan

This study will focus on the three locally producible factors, Oconee County’s efforts in the areas of investment in human capital, investment in physical capital, and growth of labor force. The findings of this research may be important to organizations such as the Oconee Economic Alliance, a nonprofit focused on efforts to “accelerate job creation and capital investment, increase per capita income, diversify the local tax base, and generate awareness of Oconee County as a business location” (Oconee Economic Alliance, 2014). In addition to working with employers in the area, they seek to attract new international and domestic companies and work with the community to improve the area’s desirability to businesses and residents. The purpose of this study is to assess Oconee County’s competitiveness in the field of economic development by determining its strengths and weaknesses in the areas of investment in human and physical capital and growth of labor force. The importance of the results of this research is to ensure the continued growth of Oconee County.

The transition from a manufacturing based economy to one that is driven by creativity, knowledge, and the provision of high-value services has lead to the increased economic importance of human capital and workforce skills (Gabe, 2012). This presents a challenge to rural policymakers to draw in businesses by providing high human capital workers and innovation in technology development, which is rarely found outside of cities. The types of skills available in the workforces differs greatly between rural and urban areas and this has a measurable effect on the indicators of economic growth and development and are cause for examination into how these differences in skill may influence economic vitality and employment growth prospects for rural areas. With rural areas having an economy largely composed of low-skill occupations—such as laborers, makers, machinists, etc.—with slow growth projected for the future. The highest-skilled occupations—engineers, scientists, analysts, etc.—that are expected to grow the fastest are underrepresented in rural areas. Physical capital is another issue for rural economic development. Rural communities lack financial resources to build and maintain reserve infrastructure capacity as is often needed with incoming companies. With the costs of building and maintaining infrastructure rising and