EPISODE · May 15, 2026 · 53 MIN
Declining Industry and Public Trust at the Local Level: Elizabeth Elder on America’s “Company Towns”
from Matters of Policy & Politics · host Hoover Institution
America is a land dotted with so-called “company towns” – population centers where a single business or industry dominates not only the local economy, but government and community ethos as well. But what happens when a town and an industry in decline part ways, leaving it to local government and leadership to take up the slack? Hoover fellow Elizabeth Mitchell Edler discusses what transpired in those portions of America (Appalachia and the Midwest) once dominated by a since-diminished coal industry and the lack of institutional confidence that followed – her interviews, polling and data research chronicled in her new book, Company Towns: Industry Power and the Historical Foundations of Public Mistrust. Recorded on May 4, 2026.
What this episode covers
What happens when an industry-dominant “company town” loses its primary employer? In the case of those parts of America once reliant upon coal companies to provide work and literally run small mining towns, a Hoover fellow has found economic hardship and a disturbing loss of confidence in democracy and institutions.
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Declining Industry and Public Trust at the Local Level: Elizabeth Elder on America’s “Company Towns”
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