Integrating Civil Society and Economic Growth in Appalachia

ABSTRACT Building from a framework that incorporates ideas from the civil society perspective into market‐based sociological models of economic growth, this article examines the effects of three measures of civic engagement on measure of economic growth in Appalachian counties during the 1990–1995 period. The analysis shows that net of other market competition‐based measures, civic engagement does have a net positive impact on economic growth (increases in private non‐farm employment, private establishment, per capita income, earnings, etc.). The three measures of civic engagement are (1) percent of population in civically engaged denominations (1990), (2) number of national associations per capita (1990), (3) and number of third places per capita (1990). All three measures have significant positive effects in one or more models. Percent in civically engaged denominations has the most consistent effects. Implications are discussed.