Discusses factors accounting for poverty trends since 1965: government transfers, human resource and employment policies, macroeconomic conditions, demographic change, and changing education. Criticizes the current transfer system (including social insurance and welfare programs) for adverse effects on economic and social behavior. Available from…

During the last 30 years unprecedented economic growth and novel patterns of migration in Europe have increased opportunities and simultaneously destroyed established patterns of life and traditional processes of education. (Author)

The author argues that in certain sectors of a society, especially a developing one, the best plan for educational development may be no plan. To illustrate, he analyzes the day-to-day survival problems of the Latin American urban poor and the ways that formal schooling exacerbates these problems. (Author/SJL)

While control over land and agricultural production remain in the hands of the exploitative land owners in the world, hunger will continue to be a major insoluble problem for the poor. (JD)

Discusses the low wages and dead-end jobs most Appalachian women workers face and explores nontraditional employment options which offer higher wages, benefits, security, and a chance for truly meeting a family's needs. (DS)

In a study of 19 cities with Community Development Block Grants, it was found that two-thirds of the cities with exemplary economic development efforts lacked effective targeting strategies. In general, local governments lack an economic framework that allows low income and minority groups to derive major benefits. (Author/RLV)

Although some American cities are seeing the revitalization of downtown areas, retail businesses are declining and most cities are losing population. The picture for urban policy is not good, in terms of both the targeting and magnitude of federal urban aid. (Author/RLV)

Argues that the economic absorption capacity of developing nations should not be a deterrent to donors of educational aid. They should understand that they are donating to "soft" development rather than to "hard" production. (ND)

Examines the fate of one of the key Plowden recommendations. (Editor)

Utilizing ethnographic data on several rural families, the economic rationality of the rural poor is demonstrated to be implicit in their behavior. Identification is also made of some of the constraints within which these consumer decisions are made. (JC)

Disputes claims that private education is highly selective and unaffordable. Examines extent of private expenditure on education in Bolivia, a very poor country whose public education system is characterized by low teacher salaries, unqualified teachers, few textbooks, and high dropout and repetition rates. Using 1990 and 1992 household survey…

Challenges the reliability of data sets by pointing out the following pitfalls in major census data: (1) changes in the definition of racial/ethnic categories and (2) the question of gender in determining household composition, paid/unpaid work, occupation, employment status, and poverty. (SK)

Surveys inner-city adolescents, asking questions about hopelessness, violent and aggressive behavior, substance use, sexual behavior, and accidental injury. Nearly 50% of males and 25% of females had moderate or severe feelings of hopelessness. Moreover, hopelessness predicted of each of the risk behaviors considered. Suggestions are made for…

Studied the effects of student socioeconomic status (SES), using free- or reduced price-lunch as a measure of SES, on student performance on the Arkansas Fourth Grade benchmark Examination. Results from about 32,000 students indicate that direct comparisons of schools without regard to percentage of free and reduced lunch participation would not…