Southern Perspectives Education and Nonmetropolitan Income Growth in the South

Introduction The role of education in local, state and national economic development has become a central public policy issue in recent years. Rural localities, in particular, which typically have lower education levels among the adult population than urban areas, view increased educational investments as an important component of an economic development strategy. At the same time, rural communities are sensitive to the “leakage” of human capital investments outside the community as rural residents move to urban areas with better job opportunities. However, investigations of the linkages between improved schools and local economic development are rare, thus communities have little guidance as to the returns to higher education levels for the adult population.