The private schooling market in sub-Saharan Africa is expanding, particularly within the "low-cost" private sector. However, evidence on its role in addressing inequalities in educational opportunities, especially for disadvantaged children, remains limited. This article introduces a methodology for classifying private schools by cost…

The paper draws on the work of Willms [2006. "Learning divides: Ten policy questions about the performance and equity of schools and schooling systems." Montreal: UNESCO Institute for Statistics] to present an analytical approach to the study of academic achievement disparities related to family socioeconomic status. The approach is…

Using the Gini Coefficient measured at three points in time, a 20-year trend in income inequality is presented for 300 U.S. counties. (Author/JC)

A study of characteristics and motives of migrants to the Northern Great Plains surveyed 1,590 new residents in Nebraska and North Dakota. New arrivals were younger and had higher educational levels than existing residents. Most often cited reasons for moving were desire to be closer to relatives, safety concerns, and quality of the natural…

This study examined the underlying influence of the social context, as measured by selected structural characteristics, on the resources available to the elderly in 99 counties across Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, and Arkansas. These four states were chosen because each reflected national patterns for age concentrations and for the historical…

Pennsylvania has the largest rural population in the nation, and more than 50 percent of this population is female. Overall, Pennsylvania's rural women are doing well in education, family life stability, and health, relative to comparison groups of rural men and urban women and men. Educational attainment is greater among urban women and men, but…

Current Population Survey data indicate that nonmetropolitan earnings rose slightly during 1990-96, metropolitan income declined, and nonmetro income inequality lessened. Nonmetro gains were notable in the South and Midwest and for women, Blacks, and Hispanics. Earnings declined sharply for urban, but not rural, high school dropouts. The urban…

Growing income disparities between wealthy Americans and those in low or moderate income brackets are contributing to a widening income gap between rural and urban areas. Proposed federal tax policy changes would primarily benefit upper income brackets and would likely widen the gap further. An analysis of census data indicates that since the…

Compares rural and urban income levels of Whites, Blacks, and Hispanic workers by region for the years 1979 and 1987. Presents information on geographic concentrations of minorities. Suggests the economic status of rural minorities failed to improve because of the nonskilled or semiskilled job opportunities in areas where minority populations are…

This U.S. Department of Agriculture periodical gives current statistical information on rural America. This issue contains articles about the impact on rural areas of economic trends, employment, and industry changes. A general overview indicates that moderate improvements in rural employment since 1986 have been tempered by slow income growth.…

Congressional mandate in 1975 directed that the Appalachian Regional Commission conduct a study on (1) the status of Appalachian migrants living in the destinations to which they had moved; (2) current migration patterns and implications; and (3) past and potential impact of Commission programs on outmigration and welfare of Appalachian migrants.…

The persistent poor make up only about a third of all the poor, and the rest are temporarily poor because of sudden changes in their lives--loss of job, marital breakup, or illness. The two groups of rural poor have different needs and will be helped by different types of programs. (JHZ)

This report examines the use of self-employment as a vocational rehabilitation option in rural areas. Self-employment is one of the fastest growing employment opportunities, as evidenced by the approximately 15.6 million people who reported being self-employed in 1990. Data from the 1980s comparing employment patterns in rural and urban areas…

This monograph considers four major socioeconomic indicators: mobility, education, employment, and income. The first chapter of this report summarizes these indicators for the State and provides data which indicate trends in these variables. Each is then separately considered in a chapter where data are provided at the planning district level.…

This paper presents results, using data from the National Longitudinal Surveys, which support the economic disadvantage of a non-Southern ghetto environment for young black males. Controlling for differences in age, years of school completed, region and character of current residence, it is found that the mean earnings of young black males…