This paper examines the role of social capital--the set of supportive interpersonal interactions that exists in the family, community, and school--in promoting educational achievement. Employing data on public school students from the National Education Longitudinal Survey (NELS) and other...

This paper investigates Smith's (1989) thesis that county drop out rates have been self-perpetuating in the rural South, a pattern reinforced by the presence of mining and manufacturing employers with few skill demands. The results show that the associations of mining and manufacturing with high...

In this paper, we provide evidence based on New Economic Geography Models and estimate the statistical effects of second nature advantages to shed some light on the locational transformation of the manufacturing sector in Mexico. Changes in regional industry shares and regional wages during...

Spatial statistics, econometric modeling, and other quantitative research methods provide the dominant approach to conducting research in regional science. This paper contends that a deeper understanding of many regional development processes can be gained by employing mixed method research...

We employ a multi-method approach to more fully explore determinants of greater than expected rural county-level increases and decreases in the proportion of working poor in four states. An econometric model by Anderson, Goe, and Weng (2007) using 1990 and 2000 Census data in the North Central...

We compare the returns to human capital in rural areas with those in urban areas, and across the different regions of the US. A key finding is that these returns are considerably lower in rural than in urban areas. Furthermore, failure to correct for spatial dependence bias produces an...

The role of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in increasing the education and economic well-being of rural Blacks is not, perhaps, as clear today as in the past given the abolition of formal segregation in public education. This paper presents evidence that HBCUs still play a...

A basic result of new economic geography (NEG) models is that the proximity to consumer markets impacts wages and employment within regions. The ongoing process of European integration, being targeted on the reduction of barriers to trade and factor mobility, has presumably changed relative...

Several econometric issues within the field of education finance that have not been fully explored to date are addressed. Focusing on demographic factors and per-pupil expenditures in the United States, an econometric model that incorporates spatial analysis is developed and a unique framework...

This paper uses PSID data for 1989, 1994, and 1999 to examine why some U.S. households are asset poor, i.e., why households have insufficient resources to invest in their future or to sustain household members at a basic level during times of economic disruption. The study contributes to an...