SPATIAL ECONOMIC-DEVELOPMENT, EDUCATION, AND THE NEW POVERTY

At the time the Great Society programs were initiated, the people most likely to be impoverished were blacks, women, and the aged. Today the face of proverty in the United States has changed; the economic prospects of black males are somewhat improved, while children living in female-headed households and young people account for an increasing portion of the poor. Human-capital investment in these youth is crucial to increase opportunity and to reduce the poverty rate. This paper investigates the extent to which spatial economic development policies can help reduce this new poverty.