Professor Elizabeth Currid-Halkett describes herself as an urban planner and economic geographer. Her academic credentials and expertise in these topics are distinguished and unquestionable (she is a professor of public policy at the University of Southern California), and her newest book, “The Overlooked Americans: The Resilience of Our Rural Towns and What It Means for Our Country,” sets out to prove that the differences between rural and urban Americans are actually less than widely believed.

Ms. Currid-Halkett pushes against the myth that rural America is largely composed of less educated, politically conservative people supportive of politicians whose policies actually work against their best interests. She also deconstructs whether or not urban Americans are actually regarded as more educated, liberal and politically active.

She relied on four major data sets: demographics from the U.S. Census; employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics; University of Chicago’s General Social Survey of belief systems, values and happiness levels; and consumers’ purchasing behaviors from the Nielsen Retail Scanner. She also consulted colleagues and conducted her own extensive interviews of study participants by phone. The available data to review and from which to make conclusions were truly mountainous.

Ms. Currid-Halkett quickly found that “the notion of a stark rural-urban geographic divide fails to offer an accurate picture of America’s social, cultural, and economic landscape. Rural is not synonymous with decline. The spatial manifestation of these forces is far more complicated.”

She used an interview recruitment technique known as “snowballing.” It consists of early interviewees recommending more contacts for interviews. The goal was to increase the diversity of the participants in terms of social class, race, education, location of their home, professions, age and political leanings. The interviews involved open-ended questions in which she listened to the responses non-judgmentally with no preconceptions.

Ms. Currid-Halkett’s methods are not immune to criticism. The snowballing technique is subject to a selection bias because early interviewees will tend to recommend their friends and family, people who likely hold similar views and values, and may not necessarily represent others in rural or urban areas.

The audience for this book is unclear, balancing unnecessary technical jargon (“nondepository credit intermediation”) with useful information. Is it primarily for advanced students and researchers or is it for a general readership?

Ms. Currid-Halkett feels she “found the soul of Americans through their storytelling.” The case histories of extended interviews are indeed compelling, but sometimes they are at odds with the numerical data and charts which scholars prefer. The author herself expresses her awareness of the “blur of statistics,” which surely will be more scientifically persuasive than any selected individuals’ views.

Given the current rapid changes in American society and politics, and the time necessary to conduct interviews, analyze the data, write the book and obtain a publisher, we must acknowledge that this is already a history book, not a contemporary analysis of American society.

Still — her most important findings were that rural and urban Americans are far more alike than different, especially on measures of culture and values. Both groups care about many of the same things, but may use different language to express those beliefs. All were similar in their views and hopes about democracy, equality and the importance of family.

There was very little evidence of the politics of resentment leading to politics of contentment. The widespread stereotype is that rural Americans feel left behind and are angry about it. The findings found little support for such generalities. Both rural and urban citizens shared an interest in not being taken advantage of, and not losing their way of life and long-standing traditions. Many worry about religion. The only clear differences that emerged were that rural folks were less formally educated and less active in politics.

Ms. Currid-Halkett optimistically concludes that, despite major exceptions in Appalachia and the Deep South, on most measures “rural America is doing just fine.” “The Overlooked Americans” is a useful beginning toward the goal of understanding all of America — rural and urban alike.

Dr. Louis R. Franzini is a clinical psychologist, a native of New Brighton, and a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. He is currently Emeritus Professor of Psychology at San Diego State University. His books include “Kids Who Laugh: How to Develop Your Child’s Sense of Humor” and “Just Kidding: Using Humor Effectively.”

First Published: July 16, 2023, 9:30 a.m.