Rural Establishment Innovation Survey (ICPSR 36544)

Principal Investigator(s):
United States Department of Agriculture. Economic Research Service

This is an external resource to which ICPSR links as a courtesy. These data are not available from ICPSR. Users should consult the data owners (via Rural Establishment Innovation Survey) directly for details on obtaining these resources.

Slide tabs to view more

Summary

In 2014, the United States Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service (USDA ERS) conducted the Rural Establishment Innovation Survey (REIS). This survey provides a nationally representative sample of innovation processes in rural businesses. REIS defines innovation as the introduction of new goods, services, or ways of doing business that are valued by consumers. Traditional measures from secondary data sources, such as patents or research and development (R&D) expenditures, focus on science and engineering-based innovation, which usually depict rural innovation as rare or idiosyncratic. By focusing instead on a broader definition of innovation, the REIS provides a fuller assessment of rural innovative capacity.

The main research questions for this survey were:

  • Are rural firms as innovative as urban firms?
  • What constraints are impeding the innovative capacity of firms?
  • What strategies are innovative firms using to mitigate these constraints?

The target population for the survey was Nonmetro and metro establishments with 5 or more employees in tradable sectors (mining, manufacturing, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, finance, information, professional/technical/scientific services, arts and management of businesses). REIS used the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Business Register for its sampling frame. Responses from 11,600 businesses were usable.

These data include responses from businesses in the Arts & Museums industry category. These businesses were oversampled by a factor of 3.3 to ensure reliable statistics.

The REIS data are restricted and require users to apply for access to the data. For permission to access to these data, visit the ERS Rural Economy Population: Business Industry page and scroll to the bottom of the page for contact information. If permission to access the data is granted, the data can be viewed through the NORC data enclave.

Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

Hide

Data Collection Notes

  1. Supporting documentation for the Rural Establishment Innovation Survey can be found on this ICR Documents page.
Hide

Time Method

Cross-sectional

Universe

Nonmetro and metro establishments with 5 or more employees in tradable sectors (mining, manufacturing, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, finance, information, professional/technical/scientific services, arts and management of businesses) in the United States

Unit(s) of Observation

business

Data Type(s)

Mode of Data Collection

Hide