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Faculty Bio

Paul Eberts

Paul Eberts

Professor of Development Sociology

319 Warren Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853-7801
Email: pre1@cornell.edu
Phone: (607) 255-1685

Training

Ph.D. 1963 University of Michigan (Sociology)
M.A. 1958 University of Michigan (Sociology)
B.D. 1956 College & University Ministry, Yale University, The Divinity School
A.B. 1953 Philosophy and Classics, Heidelberg College

Areas of Interest

  • politics and economics of communities and regions
  • sociological theory
  • political economy
  • research methods and analytic techniques on social indicators and local government fiscal conditions

    • Research

    My applied research program on specific topics in local policy leadership and analysis (Eberts, 1990, 1994; Eberts et al., 1995, 1997a [x-rds], 1997b [welfare reform]) and economic development represents a major proportion of my activities. These studies deal with specific issues of immediate concern to many policymakers--their fiscal-stress situations, commercial and public service development, mobilization of community agencies to meet welfare clients' needs, etc. Cross-roads analysis techniques underlie economic and services development; by involving local people in collecting and using such data and university students in analyzing the data, localities receive specific guidelines on implementing types of services which could enhance their communities.

    Specific direction for my future new research depends in part on emerging local issues. Welfare reform and local government fiscal stress is projected to be a key issue. Major effects of welfare reform are expected to hit local governments in five years (due to the 5-year limitation for TANF welfare recipients in receiving support from federal source). Yet, New York's Constitution requires federal funds to be replaced to some degree by state and local funds. This constraint will put additional stress on already strained local property and sales tax revenues. The effects will vary from one county to the next, and how state and local governments respond to these effects will be important to ascertain in their own right as well as for the theory of how people govern themselves in a free society.

     

    Selected Publications

    Grace, K. A., D. M. Ewert, and P. R. Eberts. 2001 (in press). “Practitioner Values and Development Approaches: A Comparative Study of International Development Practitioners.” In Rising Tide: Community Development Tools, Models, an Processes, edited by D. Bruce and G. Lister. Sackville, New Brunswick: Rural and Small Town Programme.

    Eberts, P. R. and R. M. Goodman. 1994. Changes in Commercial Services in Oswego County.

    Eberts, P. R. 1994. Socioeconomic Trends in New York State: 1950-1990. Albany, NY: NYS: Legislative Commission on Rural Resources.

    Eberts, P. R. 1993a. The Economic Outlook for Rural New York. In: Economic Recovery of New York: When and How? Albany, NY: The Rockefeller Institute.

    Eberts, P. R. 1993b. Community Leadership Development in an Age of Social Change. Cornell Focus 2, 1, pp 12-15. Ithaca, NY: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University.

    Eberts, P. R., D. G. Burns, and M. E. Warner. 1991; revised 1995. CLUES: Community Land Use and Economic Simulation, Reference Information for Players, Ithaca, NY: Community and Rural Development Institute, Cornell University.