This chapter argues that ongoing plans at the local level spurred by black and white community leaders inside and outside Craven Operation Progress (now named CPI) proved effective in improving the imbalance between local and federal control during the War on Poverty. The most notable of these was the rate of economic development (namely industrial growth) in Craven starting in 1968. Building upon the foundation of previous efforts in the mid-1960s, it went far in helping to meet the original goals of the War on Poverty by providing broader access to steady and well-paying jobs that the poor most desired. Economic development would remain both a crucial goal and extension of the original antipoverty campaign in Craven well into the 1970s and beyond. While it had a varied impact on low-income individuals and was not a universal salvation out of poverty, Craven’s successes in job creation and job matching that benefited both whites and minorities appear to be in stark contrast to the chronicled shortcomings of similar efforts in urban areas such as Detroit, Philadelphia, and Oakland.
Shocks and Institutions in a Job Matching Model
