Recent research finds evidence that improvements in rural natural amenities can increase median household income in communities close to the amenities. In this paper, a simple theoretical model is sketched out as an explanation of a hypothesized underlying mechanism: improvement in natural amenities can induce skill sorting across rural communities. Using community-level data in the state of Oregon before and after a large federal land conservation program was implemented, we test this hypothesis along with several competing mechanisms. Our empirical results support the hypothesized mechanism of amenity-induced skill sorting. Other mechanisms like the out-migration of the low-income population and the in-migration of the elderly population are not supported. The findings are important for policy discussions about land conservation, development and their distributional impacts.

最近的研究发现，农村自然设施的改善可以增加邻近设施的社区的家庭平均收入。在本文中，草绘了一个简单的理论模型来解释一个假设的潜在机制：自然设施的改善可以在整个农村社区引发技能分类。在实施大型联邦土地保护计划之前和之后，使用俄勒冈州的社区级数据，我们对该假设以及几种竞争机制进行了检验。我们的实证结果支持了便利性技能分类的假设机制。不支持其他机制，如低收入人口的外迁和老年人口的外来。这些发现对于有关土地保护的政策讨论非常重要，